Phantom of the Woods (2013)

Directed by Michael Storch [Other horror films: Schism (2020)]

Rather psychological in its approach, Phantom of the Woods is a decent film. It’s actually quite a bit better than I expected, and while I still think it falls around average, I have to say that the film impressed me a bit.

One of the reasons I had this on my list of films to check out is that it’s filmed in Indiana. In fact, it was filmed in the Fort Wayne area, and as I live quite close by (Columbia City representin’), I was definitely interested in seeing this. There’s not many horror films from Indiana – a point I pontificate about in my review for Scarecrow County – so this one sounded like it had potential.

And I enjoyed how they tackled the story. There’s an entity out in the nearby woods, and it makes people see what they fear most – some teenagers and a cop get entangled in figuring out how to defeat it, and things go from there. It’s a lower-budget film, but the effects are generally decent, and while nothing really stands out as far as kills go (aside from maybe a scene involving a scarecrow), I was impressed with most of what I saw.

I was also quite impressed with the performances. I don’t know the budget for the movie, but this didn’t feel like The Night Before Easter or Don’t Go to the Reunion. It felt quite polished, and the performances are a good example of that. Both J.R.S. Storch and Delaney Hathaway did great, and I really enjoyed their budding friendship. Mark S. Esch was great as an old-fashioned Marine Corp police officer – I couldn’t stand him from his first scene, and I appreciated that. Richard Hackel and Matthew Finney were both quite good also.

More than anything, I wanted to like the movie more than I did, but the thing is, while I liked a lot of what they were going for, I question whether it really had to be an hour and forty minutes. The time generally went by quickly, and the pacing wasn’t a big issue, but even so, some portions probably could have been trimmed a bit.

For an ambitious film, though, Phantom of the Woods was a surprise. To be frank, I was expecting something a lot less polished than this, and this movie impressed me. It’s not really a film I think I’d watch all that often, but when it comes to Indiana-based horror, it’s certainly a movie that I’d recommend.

7/10