Good movie but grossly overrated

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

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Clearly made on a shoestring budget, at nearly two hours much of the interest in the fabled witch in the woods wears thin - which is a shame, because this film has its heart in the right place.Stefanie Tapio plays Deb, an appealing young photographer who occasionally exhibits a callous nature. Although she looks about 12 years old, she and her friends are presented as a variant on the usual 'rock chick' – their exploits are accompanied by high school grunge music, and they spend a fair amount of time discussing the merits, or otherwise, of 'boys.' But they are an otherwise unaffected bunch, and worlds away from the usual manicured prom brats we often get in stories like this. The acting is occasionally ropey but competent for an independent film. What lets things down though is the sluggish, drawn-out plot. The first half in particular drags and it is a pity some judicial pruning didn't cut the running time down by about half an hour.Things become rather more interesting when friend Karen (Karis Yanike) appears to get kidnapped by a spooky bunch of hooded figures in the woodlands. No-one else seems remotely bothered about her disappearance. Added to that, after a mysterious illness sweeps over Deb's family, she teams up with brother Mark's friend Brent (Jeremy Gillmore) to try and make sense of this blurred mystery.The small town gradually cut off from normality due to this spreading sickness is effectively, and economically, conveyed. The low budget allows the blossoming curse to project an intimate, sticky, dirty sense of horror. The finale is unspectacular but surprisingly creepy. Lovecraftian, even. Whilst effective, it is a pity it didn't end more conclusively. After staying with Debs for so long– Director and writer Dorothy Booraem (this film marks debuts both for her and Tapio) clearly put a lot of work into every scene, and she was determined to use it all – it would have been more satisfying had the denouement not been so opaque.

Wake the Witch NR/ 113 Min./ CC The Orchard/ English Director/ Screenwriter: Dorothy Booraem Stars: Rachel Lien Martin Kenna Pete LipinsDebbie and her friends go to Wilderness Park, where they inadvertently waken a witch. Hanged for crimes as a witch, and bound to the park by chains, her curse comes to life. Will Debbie and her friends survive? Or will they all die under the terrible curse?Decent acting skills. Better budget shows. I give this Five Stars.And a Thumbs Up for story line.

It's hard to write about this film without sounding like you're picking on the filmmakers. Obviously they were working with a shoestring budget and non-professional crew/actors, and you have to admire the ambition and hard work necessary to undertake the often herculean task of finishing a feature film under those conditions. Even taking those limitations into consideration however, this isn't really much of a movie. The script is rather aimless and contains vast amounts of padding. It seems the filmmakers were more concerned with simply producing a movie than they were with telling any particular story. This is reflected in the technical craftsmanship of the film as well. Scene after scene rolls by without any hint of style or artistic conviction. It doesn't seem like a passion project, but rather a generic product designed to take advantage of the notoriously low standards of the direct-to-video horror niche. Watch something else.

Holy God, this is one terrible film. In all due respect to those of you who have written positive reviews, you're wrong. The pace is mind-bogglingly slow. The acting is abysmal. Normally in a low budget flick with bad acting, there is some eye candy on the screen, but the casting director clearly thought that bland-faced, flat-chested, and fat was the way to go with the lead. And those are the good points. Bad things happen in the woods. HINT: Stay out of the woods, dummy. But if your friends have disappeared, sometimes you have to go into the woods. And then come out unscathed. And back and forth and back and forth. I don't want to spoil the ending. I want to encourage you not to even start the film. But if you do make it to the end, you'll find yourself thinking "WTF have I done to myself? Why, Lord, why did you make me sit through an hour and 52 minutes of this horse crap?" And I'm being nice.