THE WOODS

Heather is the new student at Falburn Academy, a prestigious all-girls school hidden in the heart of the forest. During Heather's stay at this school, some mysterious events will occur: she will start having terrifying visions and hearing voices; moreover, the girl learns that according to a legend, there was a coven of witches in the school years before. Heather will understand that she is not the only one having those terrible visions and that the only rule of the school is: you cannot escape to the forest. "The Mystery of the Forest" is a good film, with some chilling scenes and an atmosphere surely of great suggestion; in some ways, it would almost come to compare to "Suspiria", with which a certain resemblance is noted in terms of content, but naturally the comparison with Dario Argento's masterpiece is qualitatively inappropriate. The first part of the narration may seem a bit slow, but then the film manages to "take off", despite the lack of excessive splatter presence except for some gore scenes at the end. "The Mystery of the Forest" may seem unoriginal in the plot, sometimes even predictable, but it is surely a film that is worth watching and that makes time pass quickly during its viewing without ever boring the viewer. Good is the performance of the lead actress Agnes Bruckner ("Venom", "Formula per un delitto") and Patricia Clarkson ("The Green Mile", "Good night and good luck"), the actress who plays the headmistress; undoubtedly good seems then the technique used by the director Lucky McKee, young author of the cult "May", his first film not yet released in Italy. McKee, despite the small number of films to his credit, quickly became part of the "Masters of horror". In short, "The Mystery of the Forest" is a film recommended to all horror lovers but especially to those who have loved "Suspiria". Overall, a good film.