Film
Don't Go in the Woods
- Slasher
- Serial killer
- Very dark
A 1981 slasher film about four friends whose mountain camping trip turns into a fight for survival when a deranged woodsman starts hunting them. It's raw, lo-fi, and determinedly unglamorous—more interested in authentic dread than jump scares. For fans of lean, practical horror made on fumes and conviction.
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The Texas Chain Saw Massacre1974
The template for everything that followed: a group of young people, isolated terrain, a methodical killer. Tobe Hooper's original is brutal and nihilistic, shot like found footage before that was a style.
But It's relentlessly bleak and offers no catharsis. The pacing will test your patience if you're used to modern editing.
Friday the 13th1980
Sean S. Cunningham perfected the summer-camp slasher blueprint. Suspenseful, economically made, and genuinely scary in ways that feel earned rather than engineered.
But The kills are filmed at a distance; if you want gore spectacle, you'll find restraint instead. It also spawned a franchise that became self-parody.
The Town That Dreaded Sundown1976
A semi-documentary slasher with real procedural weight. It's unsettling because it's grounded in actual events and treats the material with respect rather than exploitation.
But The pacing is deliberate and sometimes slack. The tone shifts between documentary earnestness and genre thrills can feel uneven.
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The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Deliverance1972
Both use remote wilderness as a location where civilization's rules dissolve and strangers become prey. The mountain setting isn't just backdrop—it's a character that enables violence.
Four men on a canoe trip into the Appalachian wilderness encounter locals and savagery. Burt Reynolds and Jon Voight in a film that understands that nature itself is the killer.
But It's slow to start and the tone is more literary and philosophical than genre horror. The famous rapids scene is brutal but the bulk of the film is contemplative.
More like this (7)
Just Before Dawn1981
A near-contemporary made in the same mould: hikers in the Pacific Northwest, a faceless killer, genuine isolation. It's taut and mean-spirited without being trashy.
But It's deliberately unglamorous and often visually murky. There's no character to root for, which some viewers find frustrating.
Madman1981
A campfire-tale slasher with a folklore hook: a summer-camp counselor warns kids about a local killer, then accidentally summons him. Atmosphere over plot.
But The film is uneven; promising stretches are followed by slack ones. The dialogue can be clunky and the final act feels rushed.
The Prowler1981
A masked killer hunting couples at a summer camp pool. It's efficient, suspenseful, and Tom Savini's practical effects are worth the price of admission alone.
But The characterization is wafer-thin and the plot is straightforward to the point of being mechanical. It relies almost entirely on set pieces.
He Knows You're Alone1980
A bridal-shower slasher with a surprisingly creepy premise: a killer who targets brides-to-be. Well-paced and atmospheric for its budget.
But The final act feels tacked-on and unsatisfying. The killer's motivation never coheres into anything coherent.
Maniac1980
An ungraceful, deeply uncomfortable descent into the mind of a serial killer. Frank Zito is repellent and the film refuses to look away, which creates a horrible fascination.
But It's exploitative and misanthropic. The synth score is distracting and the film has aged into something that feels almost dated in its extremity.
The Forest1982
Both explore how isolation in wild spaces breaks people's grip on normalcy. The killer here is almost secondary to the psychological unraveling the landscape induces.
An absolutely bizarre film about a mentally unraveling man who follows his ex-girlfriend into the wilderness of Joshua Tree, where a killer is also stalking. Surreal and genuinely disturbing.
But It's incoherent in ways that might feel like artistic intent or incompetence—it's hard to tell. The sound design is nightmarish rather than pleasant and it's visually flat.
A Dark Song2016
Like Don't Go in the Woods, it traps characters in an isolated, hostile environment where something unseen hunts them—but here the hunter is metaphysical and the film is about surrender rather than survival.
A woman rents a remote Irish house and hires an occultist to perform a dangerous ritual. Intimate, patient, and builds toward genuine transcendence. A film about grief that actually earns its emotion.
But There's no plot in any conventional sense. It's two people in one house for ninety minutes and the pay-off is spiritual rather than narrative. That bores some people.
People
Cast
- Jack McClellandPeter
- Mary Gail ArtzIngrid
- James P. HaydenCraig
- Angie BrownJoanie
- Ken CarterSheriff
- David BarthDeputy Benson
- Larry RoupeStore Owner
- Amy MartellArtist's Child
- Tom DruryManiac
- Laura TreftsDr. Maggie
- Alma RamosVictim - Running Girl
- Carolyn BrazaVictim - Cherry
Directing
- James BryanDirector
Writing
- Garth EliassenOriginal Story
- Garth EliassenScreenplay
Production
- William StockdaleAssociate Producer
- James BryanProducer
- Roberto GomezProducer
- Suzette GomezProducer