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Rootwood
USA 2018
produced by
Ruediger W. Kuemmerle, Ralf M. Loerwald (executive) for Silent Partners
directed by Marcel Walz
starring Elissa Dowling, Tyler Gallant, Sarah French, Felissa Rose, Tiffani Fest, Brandon Rhea, Kwame Head, Marv Blauvelt, Oasis Nguyen
written by Mario von Czapiewski, music by Klaus Pfreundner
review by
Mike Haberfelner
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Will (Tyler Gallant) and Jess (Elissa Dowling) run a modestly
successful podcast about urban legends and the paranormal when they seem
to strike gold as Hollywood producer Laura Benott (Felissa Rose) hires
them to investigate what's dubbed to be "the scariest place on
earth", a patch of woods that's supposed to be the roaming grounds of
the Wooden Devil, and put it all on camera for a major release
documentary. And they're given all sorts of fancy equipment and a nice
camping van for the mission, too. So they pack mutual friend Erin (Sarah
French) and are off to the middle of the woods - and even though all three
are sceptics, the place sure is spooky, and before long they're no longer
sure how to explain away all the weird sounds coming out of the woods at
night. Plus, remote as the neck of wood might be, there are signs that
something's residing nearby the camper, something too intelligent for
being a mere animal. Eventually, Erin thinks she has seen the Wooden Devil
and urges the others to leave, but when they refuse to take her seriously,
she just wanders off on her own - and runs into the Wooden Devil ... Will
and Jess have to soon come to the conclusion that there's indeed something
out there with them, something they have actually captured on camera, but
for fame and fortune they decide to spend another night in their camper -
which might not be the best idea they've ever had ... Now even
if the premise of Rootwood might suggest it, the film fortunately
does not go the found footage route and instead turns out to be a solid
horror thriller with all the right elements in all the right places, from
suspense and atmosphere to jump scares, from creating a feel of unease to
finally revealing the monster, for mere creepiness to utter violence, all
of which is carried by a well-structured plot and properly fleshed out
characters, and of course a strong cast doesn't hurt in the least bit
either. Now sure, this film might not be the reinvention of the wheel, but
it's very good genre entertainment all the same.
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