That was an excellent one.

Absolutely the worst movie.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Darren Lynn Bousman took a step down from the SAW sequels and the MOTHER'S DAY remake to deliver this cheap-looking, shot on the quick piece of horror trash. It's a largely uninteresting film, shot in the woods and following a family on a camping holiday from hell. What's most apparent is the almost singular lack of atmosphere building which I had expected given the Jersey Pine Barrens setting.Ostensibly this is a film about the Jersey Devil, with various no-name cast members getting munched on by the mythical beast, but it turns out to be a family drama for the most part instead. That's not good, given that the female characters are annoying and the male characters dull. Stephen Moyer seems to have some cult following after his role in the vampire TV series TRUE BLOOD but I found his jaded role here to be tiring and depressing for the most part. A shame Shawn Ashmore (THE DAY) couldn't have been around for more than the opening cameo.There's a big twist in the story here which is about the only thing the film has going for it; something entirely unconnected to the Jersey Devil or the setting. I liked it, but even this twist isn't handled very well and it all ends in a disappointingly low key way. A disappointment all round, in fact.

If you're looking for a standard lost in the woods, scary-gory urban legend horror film, this is a pretty decent one. If you're looking for anything beyond that, you will probably find THE BARRENS quite a waste of time.Pros: --Acting, script, and cinematography are better than many films in this genre; --Makes good use of anti-climaxes and dream sequences as well as effective vagary regarding how human/inhuman the monster really is; Cons: --A lot of loose plot threads, as well as some irrelevant and derivative details, e.g., the quote I use as my title here; --Although it could be gorier--and I realize that some people like gore for its own sake--all the entrails assault the senses, and while they're really grotty, both animal and human, they all look alike; --It would be more frightening to just give quick, patchy glimpses of the monster (or not show it at all) than to give such clear shots of the crazy thing.

For some sort, I'm kinda intrigue with this movie that I decided to rent and watch it. The story, okay, its unique! The actors were good in their acting! But I think, something is really missing at first that you as a viewer will hold on to the movie, guessing if its really happening or not. Making you fool until the ending really?? I do enjoy this, but actually made me disappointed as well like in some movies that had its same genre. I actually like how the story become twisted. The turn of events do made me oh really? But the ending, really I don't know? I think I'm not convinced. When I'm able to see some deleted scenes that its DVD has. Well when I watched it, kinda relief but why with the movie? I think because its not actually possible. But I can say, I did enjoy the ride!

No pun intended with that summary line. The movie really sets the bar above average and tries to give you a story you can hang on to. This may be from the guy who did 3 of the Saw movies (as director, he was involved in more than those prior to directing them), but that does not mean you get to see many violent scenes here. You will mostly witness the aftermath of something.It is important for the story that this happens like that. And we're back to the story department. Either you'll like where this is going (more psychological) or you will repelled by it. The main actor has to pull quite some weight. And I think he does a good job doing so. Mia Kirshner: I almost didn't recognize her. But she does more than a decent job in this too. The ending will once again split the audience. Those that remained and watched it through that is. Not perfect, but more than a solid effort