‘SHE CAME FROM THE WOODS’ (2023) – Movie Review

I’m such a sucker for slasher films. For me, there is just something enthralling about watching normal people fighting to survive the night against someone or something that is stalking them. Throw in supernatural elements and I’ll love it even more. That’s why when I heard about She Came From The Woods I got really excited just from reading the synopsis. I refused to watch the trailer. I wanted to go in as blind as I could.

She Came From The Woods is the latest film from Erik Bloomquist (10 Minutes To Midnight 2020) from a script he wrote with Carson Bloomquist (Night At Eagles Inn 2021). The film stars Cara Buono (Stranger Things), Clare Foley (Sinister 2012), Spencer List (Mockingbird 2014), William Sadler (Tales From The Crypt: Demon Knight 1995), Michael Park (Stranger Things), Tyler Elliot Burke (Tulsa King), Ehad Berisha (Weekenders 2021), Adam Weppler (10 Minutes To Midnight 2020), Giselle Torres (The Sleep 2022), Dan Leahy (Reboot), Erik Bloomquist, Emily Keefe (Intermedium) and Madeleine Dauer (The Changed 2021).

Here’s a look at the official poster art…

Interesting Characters

One thing that I found surprising with She Came From The Woods is how much it didn’t do exactly what I thought it was going to do. I thought things we going to play out a certain way and they didn’t. I thought certain characters were going to be leads and they weren’t. Characters I thought would live didn’t and characters I thought would die survived. When it came to how the events in the film played out, She Came From The Woods always kept me guessing. After 30-plus years of being a horror fan that isn’t easy to do anymore.

Something this film did really well was the characters. While they weren’t all completely developed. They were developed enough and given enough personality from the cast that they were likable and that you really want to root for these characters to survive the night. Well, except for one: Adam Klepper’s Dylan. I can’t remember the last I hated someone so much in a slasher film. He’s one of those guys who think they’re God’s gift to women and that girls should just be lining up to sleep with him. He’s homophobic and generally hateful and will sacrifice anyone to save his own skin. From the minute he showed up on screen I wanted him to die an awful death.

Kills and Gore

Speaking of deaths, while some of them are off-screen or hinted at, there is enough gore here to please those looking. Watch for an unexpected axe to the throat, a shotgun blast exploding someone’s head, and someone being caught on fire before having their head caved in with a fire extinguisher. The deaths we do see are satisfying.

She Came From The Woods adds some stylish flourishes to set it apart. The lighting in the woods when Agatha is resurrected, for example, or when the backstory is told through shadows on the wall instead of a traditional flashback. If I had one complaint about She Came From The Woods it would be Agatha’s presence in the film. She had very limited screen time. She’s usually hinted at or pulling the strings from a distance. We really don’t see her in full until the final 20 minutes of the film. Even then, her time on screen is brief. Madeleine Dauer does a wonderful job portraying the character. I can only imagine that more Agatha would have made She Came From The Woods a slightly better film.

Despite this minor gripe, I really enjoyed She Came From The Woods. 

She Came From The Woods – Final Thoughts

She Came From The Woods is a rock-solid supernatural slasher with a likable cast of characters and some satisfyingly, gory kills. It pays tribute to the classic slashers of yesterday while doing enough interesting things to stand on its own as an enjoyable modern slasher film.

In theaters Friday, February 10, 2023. Get your tickets here!