Backwoods (TV Movie 2008)

Backwoods (TV Movie 2008). 1h 25m | R

“Released to TV in 2008, u0026quot;Backwoodsu0026quot; stars Haylie Duff and Ryan Merriman as employees of a video game company in Los Angeles partaking in paint ball games on a company retreat. Theyu0026#39;re mistaken for Federal agents by a Waco-like religious cult who apprehend young women to impregnate. Havoc ensues. Craig Zimmerman plays the company leader and Deborah Van Valkenburgh the matriarch of the cult. Mimi Michaels and Willow Geer are on hand as female eye candy. There are many others; too numerous to cite.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe movie plays like a mishmash of u0026quot;Wrong Turnu0026quot; (2003), u0026quot;Hostelu0026quot; (2005) and similar movies, but is limited by its TV budget and constraints. Amazingly, production-wise itu0026#39;s on par with u0026quot;Wrong Turnu0026quot; (which wasnu0026#39;t anything great to begin with, but it was at least passably good) and, as a result, has better women, locations and music, but a weaker script and blasé filmmaking. To be more specific about the positives: The opening u0026amp; closing metalized song is excellent; the cast is good, highlighted by Willowu0026#39;s curvy beauty and Duffu0026#39;s striking features; and, like I said, the wilderness locations are great.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eUnfortunately, the movie often plays in a routine and not-thought-out way. For instance, would the cult advertise the entrance to their secret underground compound with canu0026#39;t-miss-them concrete entrances and air vents? Wouldnu0026#39;t they more likely make these features blend-in with the environment? Would a guy impaled by several wooden spikes be able to shoot a rifle at the hip as accurately as shown? Also, the ending leaves one element up in the air and reflects an all-around absence of imagination. Still, if you like the redneck slasher genre there are enough positives here to make it worth checking out. Just bear in mind that when the most imperative question about a movie is u0026quot;Whou0026#39;s the hot redhead at the beginning?u0026quot; itu0026#39;s not a good sign.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe movie runs 85 minutes and it looks like it was shot in wilderness areas in greater Los Angeles (but I canu0026#39;t confirm it).u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eGRADE: C”