Review by
Eric Hillis
Directed by: Charlie Griak
Starring: Megan Hensley, Shawn Patrick Boyd, Daniel Bielinski, Rachael Davies,
Ricardo Vázquez, Emily Fradenburgh, Mia Peters
Ever since The Blair Witch Project achieved
unprecedented commercial success, American indie filmmakers have been
venturing into the woods in hope of exploiting nature's production value.
The latest is writer/director Charlie Griak with
Nina of the Woods, though Griak has greater ambitions than simply knocking out a cheap found
footage thriller.
In what seems like a meta commentary on the sort of film you might
initially expect Nina of the Woods to be, the movie introduces
us to Jeremy (Daniel Bielinski) and Rochelle (Rachael Davies),
the exploitative filmmakers behind a reality TV series called "Truth
Seekers." For their latest episode, the pair are headed off to the woods in
search of Bigfoot, and to add some authenticity they've hired struggling
actress Nina (Kristen Wiig lookalike Megan Hensley), who lived in the
area as a young girl and was given lessons in nature by her father, whom she
hasn't seen since she was a toddler. With nice guy cameraman Eric (Ricardo Vázquez) in tow, the quartet hook up with a creepy local guide (Shawn Patrick Boyd) and head deep into the woods.
What follows is a surprising and welcome deviation from what you might
expect from such a setup. Far from the woods posing a sinister threat,
instead the forest holds secrets of enlightenment, like "The Zone" of
Tarkovsky's
Stalker. As the crew members begin to experience what they believe to be
hallucinations, they suspect their guide of drugging their coffee. Only Nina
realises what is really happening, that the forest is trying to communicate
with her as she recalls the time she spent with her father.
While Nina in the Woods scores points for ambition, it never
quite gathers its ideas into a satisfying narrative. Events transpire only
to be forgotten about, like when Jeremy comes across a past version of his
own group and it seems the film is about to venture into the territory of
the similarly trippy but more well conceived sci-fi indie
Coherence. As the film plays out, it begins to feel like we're listening to a
pothead deliver a rambling philosophical lecture in the kitchen of a house
party. The movie's attempts to conceal a late twist are far from
convincing.
As the titular Nina, Hensley shows much promise, and her committed
performance helps keep us onboard as the film appears to be losing its way
around her. Cinematographers Buck Holzemer and Gregory R. Winter make the most of the beautiful natural setting to
give the film a polished sheen that covers the budgetary limitations, and
the immersive sound design adds to the feeling that we're lost deep in these
uncertain woods.
On a technical level, Nina of the Woods is one of the more
impressive low budget American indies of recent years, and I have to applaud
Griak's aspiration. But while it's a cut above the slew of "let's go the
woods with a camera and hope for the best" indie horrors, it fails to come
anywhere near the sort of metaphysical genre films (Stalker;
Solaris; Picnic at Hanging Rock) it hopes to echo.
