Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Brilliant and touching

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

Blistering performances.

Well, this is just one of those films that after you finish watching it you feel (at least I did) like 'Why the hell did I watch this in the first place...?The elements within the film were done well; the acting was quite good all around. But there just was no real substance behind the story at all. If they could have just given the story and and script a little more thought so that it actually lead somewhere, then it COULD possibly have packed a LOT bigger punch at the end. The frustrating thing is that the elements making up the film were good enough to keep you interested and thinking that something just MIGHT happen to make it satisfying and worthwhile. But then after all this buildup you are not really left with much...Good acting and some suspenseful situations are just not really enough to carry a film. Perhaps a more substantial or meaningful background story might have helped. BUT, if you are looking for ANY kind of serious Horror or substance, then likely you will not find this film very satisfying at all.People compare it to 'DELIVERANCE' To me, that is a TOTAL insult to 'DELIVERANCE' YES, you have a vague 'backwoods' type people vs. city people vibe going on, and there definitely is some unpleasantness that makes it tense. But it all just goes bloody NOWHERE. And please DON'T get me started on the ending. And, I don't see how they could POSSIBLY have achieved a more pointless and unsatisfying ending.I THINK the direction that the film makers were trying to achieve was along the lines of a lot of European films that are more dramatically oriented. You know, like the ones where it's all 'talk' but not much really happens. With that kind of film, the enjoyment is in the subtlety and depth of the 'Drama' and character interactions. To me, it seems like that is what they are trying to do here, but with a tense, 'backwoods' setting. The point is, that if you are FOCUSING primarily on that element, then you'd better do it VERY well! That means that you need to provide a LOT more depth to the characters and perhaps MUCH deeper insights into who and what they are. But, this is lacking here. So, unfortunately you don't have that kind of satisfying feeling of both having deeply related to the people or their emotional situations. So, all that is left is the 'story' or 'action', such as it is. But, I'm sorry people, it just simply isn't there...So, despite some good acting and a few well executed tense situations, the film seems to be lacking in any serious depth, substance, or character development that would genuinely involve the audience...

Backwoods is one of those movies capable of attracting the viewer without needing extraordinary special effects, on the contrary, simply creating a truly suspenseful sequence of events, set in a frightening atmosphere. The choice of an abandoned rural home in the Basque forest, where the slow movements of the characters are followed by a distanced camera, giving the idea there's someone watching them from a distance, proves really effective. The plot in itself is rather simple, and with no plot twists, except in the finale, open to different interpretations. On the whole, everything sounds very minimal, however what keeps the viewer attached to the screen is the solid build-up of an authentic thrilling feeling, where setting and shooting are wisely employed. The cohesive and good cast also help build the gripping atmosphere till the end, the characters are well developed and their interaction intelligently explored. The only flaw: I watched the parts spoken in Spanish without subtitles which made me lose some significant dialogues. Apart from this, a wise opera prima by the director Koldo Serra, proving that the mechanisms of fear are always the same and that we need very little to feel scared.

Backwoods is set in a remote region of Spain during 1978 where two holidaying couples, Paul (Gary Oldman) & his wife Isabel (Aitana Sánchez-Gijón) along with business associates Norman (Paddy Considine) & his wife Lucy (Virginie Ledoyen) are going to spend some time in Paul's inherited home in the hills. On their way there they stop off at a local small village & introduce themselves to some locals, the next morning Paul takes Norman out into the woods to do some hunting, they stumble across an old house inside which they find a young girl chained up in a dark & dirty locked room. They return to Paul's house with her & intend to contact the police but Paul's jeep hits a tree & is put out of action, back at the house & the unfriendly locals turn up brandishing shotguns looking for the young girl. The two couples have to decide whether to hand the girl over & risk her abuse continuing or do they make a stand & try to get help for the girl & themselves...Shot under the title Bosque de Sombras this English, French & Spanish co-production was co-written & directed by Koldo Serra & in my opinion is a really lacklustre thriller of no note at all, despite the European location & acting talent on show Backwoods made no impression on me whatsoever & dare I say it as a viewing experience I was pretty bored & ultimately frustrated by it. As has already been said by just about everyone who has even bothered watching this Backwoods rips-off Straw Dogs (1971), sure the path it takes to get to it's conclusion is slightly different but the two films are very similar in themes & tones with Backwoods stealing whole scenes & even sets itself in the seventies. Basically a group of outsiders turn up & ruffle a few feathers among the locals & end up having all sorts of trouble because of it, there's an attempted rape (note I said attempted, there is no actual rape in Backwoods & even the character herself clearly says 'he tried to rape me' as in her tried but didn't) & an outraged shotgun wielding husband who suddenly finds great inner strength & aggression after being painted as a real wimp at first. The character's are very unlikable, the soap opera style dramatics is very broadly written & while there's tension amongst the friends it never really amounts to that much. There's no background to the girl, she is found locked in a room & is the child of one of the locals but the script never goes into anymore detail than that & it's pretty much guesswork on the audience's part. It's fairly slow going, half the film is in English while half is in Spanish, I don't mind watching a subtitled film at all but the constant switch between English & Spanish did irritate me. The ending is also very frustrating, set at night in the pouring the abused girl goes back to her captor & this guy just stands there holding a gun which he fires but it's not clear at who or even if he hit anyone & then the guy & girl just sort of walk off while the wife looks on trying to act worried in a nothing sort of ending. The twist's aren't very good & it's never explained why Norman ignores what Paul told him & tried to get to the police station with the girl after Paul had lured the men away. Often an annoying & slow film to watch I can't say I liked it at all.The location used is nice enough & it's reasonably well shot but there's not much style here. There's very little in the way of violence, in fact the original Straw Dogs easily beats Backwoods in terms of bloodshed & violence & actually does have a rape in it unlike this. Not scary or thrilling or clever or particularly entertaining to watch Backwoods could have been a good backwoods brutality thriller but as it is it's a sloppy, unlikable slow moving thriller that just frustrates with it's lack of clarity or answers, w aren't even given much in the way of clues to decide for ourselves what's going on or has happened either.Set & filmed in Spain I can see why Backwoods is fairly obscure & not exactly easy to find despite it's A list star Gary Oldman who is much better than the likes of this rubbish. Oldman gives a good performance but has the sense not to stick it out right until the end.Backwoods is a poor thriller that did nothing for me other than frustrate & annoy, the lack of any answers is a problem & the lack of any pace or fun is also a big problem. A real bore & a bit of a chore to sit through, could have been decent but it isn't.

This movie reminded me of Deliverance. Most obvious reasons being that the woodsy-setting and crazy locals contributed to that, but there's also a majorly creepy/uncomfortable factor to the whole tone of it.For example, the little girl screamed and cried a few too many times for my taste, as it was starting to get very annoying. But at the same time it made me more tense... so in a way that succeeded in creating a viewing atmosphere where I was on edge the whole time.Some of the camera work/directing/shots looked great, esp. the chase scenes through the woods.I'm not sure if I can say that I exactly enjoyed watching this movie, as I tend to like movies with at least a bit of humor in them, but I did think it was effective as a scary movie.