Deathwoods (2026) is exactly the kind of horror movie where you pretty much know what to expect after just a few minutes. A group of teenagers heads into the woods to go camping, there is plenty of drinking, the sexual tension starts to build and, of course, it doesn't take long before strange things begin to happen. It is a concept we have seen countless times before, but Deathwoods seems to be quite aware of that itself.
The movie therefore doesn't really try to pretend that it has reinvented the wheel. Quite the opposite, in fact. Deathwoods eagerly makes use of virtually every familiar horror cliché and seems to hope that its self-aware approach will be enough to keep viewers, and horror fans in particular, interested. To some extent, it actually works. The movie can be surprisingly entertaining at times and, when it decides to get bloody, it does so in a wonderfully over-the-top way.
Unfortunately, that isn't enough to make Deathwoods a truly successful horror movie.
A Familiar Story in the Woods
The premise of Deathwoods is perhaps one of the most commonly used concepts in the horror genre. Teenagers, an isolated forest, a camping trip and enough alcohol to make bad decisions practically inevitable. Add some sexual tension between the characters and you already have most of the ingredients for a classic teen horror movie.
Thankfully, the movie is well aware of this. Deathwoods doesn't exactly handle these clichés subtly, but instead seems to deliberately pull almost every familiar trope out of the closet. At times, it almost feels as though the movie is constantly winking at the audience about the genre it belongs to.
And, to be fair, this actually works from time to time.
It is especially enjoyable when Deathwoods doesn't take itself too seriously. Some scenes are genuinely entertaining because of this, and the gore certainly helps. Whenever Deathwoods decides to go all out with blood and violence, it really embraces the opportunity. It isn't necessarily original, but it is exaggerated enough to give the movie some much-needed energy.
Too Little Suspense and Mystery
The biggest problem with Deathwoods, however, is that the movie barely knows how to build suspense.
A horror movie can certainly afford to take its time. In fact, a good horror movie can achieve a lot by building things up slowly, introducing its characters and gradually giving the audience the feeling that something isn't quite right. Deathwoods tries to do this as well, but the difference is that it never really manages to create a convincing sense of tension.
There are strange events, moments when you are supposed to start suspecting that something is seriously wrong, and an attempt is made to create a mystery surrounding everything that is happening. The problem is that it never feels as though the movie really knows where it wants to go.
As a result, many of these moments simply feel like things that happen, rather than pieces of a larger mystery.
The Characters Remain Mostly Clichés
The characters don't exactly help the movie either.
You never really get to know the teenagers very well. They all have their own personalities and are therefore reasonably distinct on paper, but ultimately they still feel like different versions of familiar horror movie archetypes.
One is the typical partygoer, another has a more serious attitude, and, of course, there are also characters who seem to exist mainly to keep certain familiar genre conventions alive.
The strange thing is that this makes them both somewhat unique and difficult to tell apart.
That may sound contradictory, but Deathwoods simply doesn't do enough to give its characters meaningful personalities. After a while, you know roughly who is who, but you never really feel like you know these people. As a result, it is also difficult to genuinely care when the horror finally catches up with them.
A Strange Visual Style
Visually, Deathwoods may be the strangest aspect of the entire movie.
The film uses a noticeably grainy filter that makes the image look somewhat old-fashioned. The only problem is that I can't quite figure out what the intention behind it is. Is Deathwoods trying to look like some kind of vintage horror movie? Or is the filter meant to hide the fact that the film simply had a very limited budget?
Either way, it doesn't always work.
The biggest issue is that this visual style doesn't really fit with the rest of the movie. Deathwoods tries to be a modern horror film while also using modern technology and smartphones. There is nothing wrong with giving a movie an old-fashioned visual style, of course, but when the characters are casually walking around using iPhones, it starts to feel rather odd.
As a result, the movie isn't particularly appealing to look at and never really develops a clear visual identity.
Gore Provides Some Fun Moments
Fortunately, there is still something to enjoy for fans of bloody horror.
Deathwoods certainly isn't afraid to occasionally go all in on blood and violence. It is all rather excessive, but perhaps that is what works best for the movie. When the film fully embraces the gore, there is at least something to enjoy.
These are also the moments when Deathwoods is at its most entertaining. Not because the kills or bloody sequences are particularly innovative, but simply because the movie suddenly has a little more energy.
Unfortunately, there aren't enough of these moments to completely compensate for everything else.
Deathwoods Simply Doesn't Have Enough to Offer
The biggest problem ultimately remains the fact that not much actually happens during a large portion of Deathwoods.
That isn't necessarily a problem by itself. Some horror movies can create an incredible amount of tension with very little happening. Deathwoods simply doesn't manage to do that. The quieter sections therefore don't feel particularly suspenseful or mysterious, but mostly like parts where the movie is waiting for something to happen again.
And when something finally does happen, it often feels like the movie is simply pulling another familiar horror cliché out of its hat.
This ultimately makes the film quite predictable. Not necessarily because you can predict every single detail, but because, as a horror fan, you constantly get the feeling that you've seen all of this before.
Final Verdict
Deathwoods is not a completely terrible horror movie. There are simply too many moments where the film is still reasonably entertaining. The exaggerated gore provides some fun, and the self-aware use of horror clichés occasionally works in the movie's favor.
Ultimately, though, what remains is a film that doesn't do enough with its own premise.
The characters aren't developed enough, most scenes feel relatively insignificant and there is hardly any real build-up of suspense or mystery. The strange grainy visual style also fails to convince and mostly feels out of place in the modern world in which the story takes place.
It certainly isn't the worst or most unpleasant movie you could encounter within the genre. But that is also about the best thing I can say about it. Deathwoods simply doesn't give you enough reasons why you should watch it.
Rating: 5/10
