The Deep Dark Woods

This week's main theme is the evil that lies within the woods, previously exploited in giddy, gory detail by Sam Raimi in the first two Evil Dead films, and recently in Dante Tomaselli's Satan's Playground, and J.S. Cardone's Wicked Little Things - the latter part of Maple/Lionsgate's After Dark horrorfest series.

The last entry in After Dark's shocker octet is The Abandoned, Nacho Cerda's musty supernatural thriller set in rustic Russia, which kicks into gear when a woman visits the house she's been bequeathed, nestled in the damp forest on a gloomy, circular island. Also from Maple/Lionsgate is Haunted Forest, a feature film by Mauro Borrelli (perhaps best-known as an illustrator on several Tim Burton films), about a group of treasure hunters slowly being picked off by a vengeful Indian spirit in a mountainous region of the U.S.

To round off the woodsy theme is Lucky McKee's ill-fated studio debut, The Woods, which remained unreleased for several years after the sale of MGM/UA, and an executive shuffle just didn't know what to do with the picture. (Coming soon will be an interview with McKee's longtime composer, Jaye Barnes Luckett, and a review of her new compilation CD which features a suite of unreleased and demo cues from The Woods.)

Also new to the site is a review of Peter Yates' play-drama, John & Mary, starrring then-newcomers Dustin Hoffman and Mia Farrow, and a review of The Spaghetti West, a short but memorable chronicle of the spaghetti western genre that's enjoying a resurgence on DVD.

We've also added two film reviews into the archives: Bluebeard / Barbe-Bleue (1951), and Henri-Georges Clouzot's Manon (1949) - two films starring Cecile Aubry, the waifish French actress imported by Hollywood to appear in Fox' The Black Rose (1950) with Tyrone Power.

Coming next are a series of space documentaries & jazz concerts from MVD Visual, new soundtrack reviews, and an interview with Murray Gold, the composer of the BBC's brilliantly giddy Doctor Who series.

- MRH