Following the conversation with locals over what they've heard about the legend and the haunted forest, Amanda and Tim head towards the woods to uncover the truth about what happened to her little brother. That is when everything goes in a spiral. Although the video shoots remain, the purpose behind the recording shifts to showing all the twisted sounds that they hear at night and the constant breakdowns that the couple experiences. What was supposed to be a cool project, becomes a living nightmare.
That is why Joshua Brucker deserves a round of applause. The way they made a low-budget vision into a horrific reality-driven scenario is what makes this film worthwhile. The film brilliantly subverts the classic horror structure by demonstrating that life can be more frightening than any jump scares or spooky supernatural figures. Sometimes, our greatest fears in real life can haunt us more than watching a final girl sequence. After all, when you are watching a movie that presents characters, story arcs, and a few terrifying encounters, you can be scared but detached from what is presented onscreen. But when you watch things shot with a regular camera in a normal-looking scenario where all your worst nightmares come true, it is hard to not feel affected and even tormented by this possibility. With superb improvisations and clever use of camerawork, this production will make you fall into its realistic trap. Nevertheless, it does bring you back to planet earth with its abrupt ending and repetitive feel towards its final quarter. This misstep prevents the film from excelling from start to finish, but it doesn't stop it from being a worthwhile cult classic watch.
