Kids go in the Woods…. Kids get Dead

This is a shot on digital flick that wants to remind the audience of the great slasher movies of the 1980s.  You have a group of teenagers that head off for a weekend of drinking and debauchery at an uncle’s cabin.  After being warned by the creepy old man that runs the local store they head off to be killed by a masked man that looks a bit like Harry Warden (from My Bloody Valentine).  The twist is that the younger brother of one of the girls is reading a book about a group of kids that go in the woods and get killed off that is exactly what is happening.  So he uses this knowledge to save his sister.  But the twist beyond the twist is that we are watching the movie as a movie that is being hosted by a busty late night movie show hostess.  Also important to know is that this is actually a tape of that late night show, complete with occasional commercials during the breaks, as well as the family vacation that was apparently on the VHS before it was used.  I know this all sounds confusing, but it is edited together well and actually works.

This has been a really difficult movie review to write up.  If you judge Kids go in the Woods solely on the storyline of them going off to get hacked up it is kind of a mediocre attempt at a slasher movie.  I found the acting to be a bit rough, and many of the characters are so over the top annoying that they do remind me of those from a slasher movie, a very bad one.  The gore is really very tame and other than a cool kill at the beginning and a neat throat ripping it isn’t memorable at all.  But the movie does deliver plenty of nudity (a slasher staple) and some lesbian action (a nice surprise).  Also the look of the killer is great.  Too many times I’ve seen slasher movies ignore the design of the killer, which I think is one of the most important aspects of these movies.  So just as a slasher movie it is a mixed bag.

But then this isn’t just a slasher movie.  The segments with the horror hostess making slightly off color remarks and innuendos were a blast.  It took me back to the days when I used to stay up late at night and watch those late night shows where the local on air talent would have to find a way to keep the audience tuned in regardless of the crap movie they were showing.  I really did get a kick out of watching these segments.  Then they tack on the fact that we are supposed to be watching a VHS of the show, complete with the commercials and bits of family vacation.  Initially this seemed a bit of a gimmick to me, but as I got into the movie I started to realize how creative and different this was.  I watch a lot of independent movies, too many probably.  Some of them do a good job, some of them not so much.  But I hardly ever find something that is both well made and completely different.  Kids go in the Woods…Kids get Dead is one of those movies that I will stand out to me. 

This is definitely a movie that I think everyone should check out at least once.  These guys are making some pretty interesting stuff and are worth supporting.  For more information on where you can pick this movie up head on over to their website at http://darkstarentertainment.net/kgd/kgdhome.html

2 ½ out of 4

reviewed by John Shatzer

© Copyright 2009 John Shatzer