The Backwoods

[KLAXXON]

Summer 1978. An English couple are going through a difficult patch in their relationship, and so decide to spend the summer with their friends in the north of Spain. Hidden away in the Spanish mountains, it seems the perfect setting for Norman (Paddy Considine) and Lucy (Virginie Ledoyen) to get their lives back on track, however, when old friend Paul (Gary Oldman) suggests a walk in the woods it starts a chain of events destined to end in bloodshed.

Cultural differences with the local villagers and an accidental discovery in the forest leads to a whirlpool of violence, evoking Straw Dogs in its dark tale of revenge coupled with outstanding performances from its key cast. The Backwoods is a very intense thriller from acclaimed director Kolda Serra.









Sporting one of the coolest moustaches in history, Gary Oldman grabs his double barrel and heads off to the woodlands for new thriller ‘The Backwoods’. A dark low-key tale about failing relationships, overbearing suspicions and murder! (I should have said murder first, would have had more impact) either way, things don’t go well on this little French getaway.

Directed and co-written by Spanish Director Koldo Serra, the pace of the movie incredibly distinct. Characters are built slowly and a tension is noticeable from the outset. The performances are also actually one of the strongest merits of the film. Paddy Considine seems to fit every role he plays these days and his thorough portrayal of a man at the end of a crumbling relationship is pretty much spot on.

The story follows Lucy (Virginie Ledoyen) and her husband Norman (Paddy Considine). They decide to take a break and visit Paul (Gary Oldman) and his wife Isabel (Aitana Sánchez-Gijón), some old fiends they have in the countryside’s of Spain. The men go off hunting while the ladies go to the lake and sit on the shore, chatting and sharing a cigarette.

While exploring the woods the men come upon what seems like a deserted farmhouse. Inside, Paul hears a muffled sound behind a chained door. He forces it open to discover a deformed young girl. The men decide to take the girl with them back to the cabin in an attempt to protect her from whoever was keeping her locked up.

The women try giving her some water but the girl can only drink it on the floor like an animal. They try to take the girl to the authorities in town but the axel of their car breaks and they are forced to return home. The next morning a man from the village, Paco (Lluís Homar) comes knocking on their door with two of his brothers and a cousin. They are looking for a little girl that has gone missing.

From here the story gets more and more interesting. Despite the slow moving pace you do feel that the film was nested on the Alfred Hitchcock saying, “the thought of something bad about to happen is worse than the actual event” or something like that and this statement is absolutely true. Your forced to keep watching merely to find out what happens and how the events will unfold.

All in all it’s not too bad a film. Oldman is notably the fuel that keeps the engine running here, but the suspense keeps things ticking along until the films rather dubious conclusion. Worth a watch if you want to see what commissioner Gordon might do in his spare time.









When I saw The Backwoods, direct-to-disc and freshly delivered from the majesties of the mixed bag, Lionsgate Home Entertainment, I saw Gary Oldman’s name on the box and thought: “How far the mighty have fallen.” He used to be known as serious actor, but in the past few years, he's done a ton of smaller parts in big-budget CGI-heavy franchise extravaganzas (Batman movies, the Harry Potters).

 

What I should have been thinking was, “Good. Gary Oldman is returning to his indie roots,” because he certainly made the right move taking on the role of know-it-all Paul, an Englishman just-moved to his ancestral home in Northern Spain. The Backwoods is a small film, all about mood and character, and not a single computer blip (in fact, the action is set in the late 1970s) is seen.

 

The story begins by introducing troubled marrieds Norman and Isabel (Paddy Constantine, Virginie Ledoyen) obviously towards the end of a long road trip. They’re in a moving car bitching about headaches and radio songs while trying to keep up with the couple they’re following, Paul and his loving wife Lucy (Aitana Sanchez-Gijon). The four friends take a brief pit-stop in a small town where it’s revealed that Paul is ready to fix up the old family estate, Norman doesn’t speak any Spanish, and Lucy is a bit of an exhibitionist. When the quarrelsome quartet runs afoul of the locals at their favorite watering hole, their renovation vacation gets turned upside down.

 

While the story is more Straw Dogs than the Wolf Man, for awhile I thought I was watching a horror movie. After all, Lionsgate sent to it to me c/o Horror.com, it’s got a spooky cover, and a blurb from Fangoria on the front. There’s also a mysterious, deformed little girl who comes into the picture partway through, and she seems to be captivated by the sight of the full moon in one scene. But The Backwoods is not at all supernatural, nor is it the type of horror movie to exploit the old tried and true misshapen, inbred hillbilly angle. It is not, in fact, a horror movie at all.

 

Now that you know not to heed the packaging and marketing angle, you might still find this modestly-budgeted, precisely-acted, well-written Spanish indie worth a look. Comparisons to the aforementioned Peckinpah classic, and Deliverance, are inevitable, but The Backwoods tells its own tale. It is not as brutal, cruel, or affecting as those 70s classics, but it maintains the expected vibe.

 

Oldman, who can often veer over the top, keeps himself well in hand as the condescending alpha male, while Constantine manages to convey layers to character which could, in the care of a lesser actor, come of as simply wimpy. There’s less for the ladies to do character-wise, but the three (I include young Yaiza Esteve as the mute Nerea) do the very best with what they've got. On the side of the "bad guys", the casting and acting could not be better.

 

Additionally, director Koldo Serra does an admirable job of making the characters' surroundings — a cozy cabin, a derelict barn, the interior of a crashing car, and the rain-soaked forest — almost palpable.

 

While The Backwoods doesn't move very quickly (in fact, it will more than likely lose a lot of viewers in the listless first half-hour), and it's not as shocking as its predecessors, it's still well worth a look for fans of Oldman, and those interested in atmospheric, character-driven stories about human nature.










Gary Oldman ...  Paul
Paddy Considine ...  Norman
Aitana Sánchez-Gijón ...  Isabel
Virginie Ledoyen ...  Lucy
Lluís Homar ...  Paco
Yaiza Esteve ...  Nerea
Andrés Gertrúdix ...  Antonio
Jon Ariño ...  Lechón
Kandido Uranga ...  Miguel
Álex Angulo ...  Jose Andrés
Savitri Ceballos ...  Jose Andrés' daughter
Patxi Bisquert ...  José Luis
José Andrés Zalguegui ...  Bar Tender
Ramón Churruca ...  Ignacio
Isabel Jiménez ...  Waitress



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