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The Barrens (2012)
Anchor Bay Entertainment
Blu-ray Disc Released: 10/9/2012
All Ratings out of
Movie:
1/2
Video:
1/2
Audio:
Extras:
Review by Mike Long, Posted on 10/5/2012
There are many trends and common themes in horror movies. Heck, just watch two back-to-back and your bound to find similarities. There are also trends which take place behind the camera with horror. Many directors have a horror hit when they are relatively young and then must try to find their place in the world of filmmaking. John Carpenter, Sam Raimi, and James Wan all had successful (even groundbreaking) movies before they were 30 and then had to decide which direction their careers were going to take. Darren Lynn Bousman was just 26 when he was handed the reins of Saw II. Following in the footsteps of its predecessor, that $4 million production grossed nearly $90 million. Bousman was then allowed to director Saw III and Saw IV. However, since leaving the Saw franchise behind, Bousman's career has certainly had some ups and downs. With his latest release, The Barrens, Bousman continues to show a dedication to horror.
In The Barrens, we meet Richard Vineyard (Stephen Moyer) and his family, (second) wife Cynthia (Mia Kirshner), daughter Sadie (Allie MacDonald), and so Danny (Peter DaCunha). Richard is taking the family camping in the woods of New Jersey known as the Pine Barrens. He's excited about the trip, as this is where his father took him camping as a child. They arrive at the state park, but Richard is disappointed to see that the designated camping area is filled with people. But, they decide to set up their tents and make the best of if. That night, at the community bonfire, a teen (Erik Knudsen) tells the story of a "The Jersey Devil", a baby who was cursed by Satan and grew to be a terrible creature. The story upsets Danny and Richard gets upset. The next day, he decides that the family should have a more realistic camping experience and announces that they are moving to a more secluded area. As they travel through the forest, Cynthia notices that Richard's behavior is growing more and more erratic. Richard feels that something is following them. Is it The Jersey Devil? When a dead body is discovered, it becomes clear that something dangerous is in the woods.
Following his work on the three Saw films, Bousman's career has taken some interesting turns. He first made
Repo! The Genetic Opera, a musical begging to be a cult classic. Next up was Mother's Day. Supposedly a remake of a terrible movie from the 80s, this put a nice twist on the tired home invasion sub-genre and showed that Bousman had a knack for suspense. His subsequent effort, 11-11-11 has some good jump scares, but it suffered from budget and language problems and never became what Bousman wanted it to be.So, we can see a pattern of Bousman making some original movies and some which have familiar components. But, that doesn't explain why he'd want to make a "Jersey Devil" movie, as this cryptozoological creature has been the subject of at least three movies and an episode of The X-Files. Perhaps his goal was to make the ultimate "Jersey Devil" film. But, I don't think that was the case, as the movie is more about the stress which the camping trip has on the family rather than a monster movie.
And it seems that's where The Barrens goes wrong. Bousman's ambitious script wants to be a psychological thriller, a monster movie, and a family drama. The odd thing about the film is that while it bites off more than it can chew, it also doesn't do enough. The first act is interesting, as we meet the family and begin to wonder what's up with Richard. This stretches somewhat into the second act, as a sense of being stranded in the forest is added to the family's list of woes. However, once the twist is finally fully revealed (after being telegraphed for quite some time), it's a disappointment. On the one hand, Bousman is brave for trying something different and completely going against the audience's expectations, but there's also a palpable "really, that's it?) feel to the revelation. Of course, this all changes with the final scene which throws everything else in the story into question. I question the necessity and the motivation of this choice, as it doesn't really gel with the rest of the film and nearly negates any power the twist had.
Bousman does a good job of tapping into some primal fears in The Barrens, such as loss of control and literally being lost. However, not unlike the Vineyard family, The Barrens loses its way about half-way through. I like that Bousman tried to bring something new to a tired genre with his twist, but the pedestrian feel of the rest of the film dampens the whole thing. To their credit, the cast is good. I'm surprised that after several years on
True Blood, Moyer would want to do a horror project, but he's certainly game here and chews the scenery. Kirshner makes a nice link to the audience, and relative newcomer MacDonald is good. Over the past few years, Bousman has made several movies back-to-back. After watching The Barrens, I couldn't help but wonder if it wouldn't do him good to slow down and really take his time on one of the projects.The Barrens shouldn't have had the big guy from
Insidious playing a park ranger on Blu-ray Disc courtesy of Anchor Bay Entertainment. The film has been letterboxed at 1.78:1 and the Disc contains an AVC 1080p HD transfer which runs at an average of 20 Mbps. The image is notably grainy at times, but the image doesn't show any defects from the source materials. The movie was supposedly shot on 16mm film and I believe it, as it's rare to see this kind of grain from a new movie on Blu-ray Disc. Because we aren't used to grain like this, it is distracting. The colors look good (as is common with 16mm) and the image is never overly dark or bright. The picture is a bit soft at times, but the image is good, especially in shots which give us an impression of how massive the forest is. The Disc carries a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 audio track which runs at 48 kHz and an average of 1.5 Mbps. The track provides clear dialogue and sound effects. The track makes good use of brining home the sounds of the forest, especially when it rains, and we get some nice surround and stereo action with this. The effects aren't necessarily detailed, but they definitely make their presence known and the stereo separation is good. The subwoofer gets involved with the "shock" scenes and during the finale.The Barrens Blu-ray Disc contains only two extras. We begin with an AUDIO COMMENTARY from Writer/Director Darren Lynn Bousman and Director of Photography Joseph White. As with Bousman's other recent commentaries, this one is very frank and honest and he tells it like it is. Few directors will criticize themselves and their career like him and he makes the commentaries entertaining. The only other extra is a DELETED SCENE which runs about three minutes. This was meant as an epilogue, but I'm not sure if it would have improved the ending. This can be viewed with an optional commentary from Bousman and White.
Review Copyright 2012 by Mike Long