Woodland Grey Review: A Slow Yet Sinister Burn

A man living alone in the woods saves the life of a young woman, forcing them to coexist. After she makes a discovery in the woods behind his house, she releases something truly haunting. We bring you our Woodland Grey review.

Woodland Grey is a strange film to review as its slow pacing edges you into the story as you behold the incredible camera work and a musical score that lures you into its grip.

The direction is solid and the acting too but the film instantly seems to lack some sort of purpose or direction when it comes to the plot.

A film that leaves everything open to interpretation and speculation is usually a hard film to invest in when there are no clear boundaries set by the filmmakers.

The slowness comes to a snail’s pace at times without any benefit or resolution but I’m still watching as there’s an icy cold grasp the film has over you that despite its lack of action or end result still has you wanting to see what happens, eventually.

A girl now stranded in the woods with a mysterious man and an ominous shed and its contents are the only focus of this slow-burn thriller.

The contents of that shed in my own interpretation of Woodland Grey are our character’s realisation of their own destiny. A barrier/force they must confront as they face their own mortality. 

Woodland Grey is a perfect title for this particular piece with the location being woodland and the details around the entire film are well… a little grey.

Certain flashbacks early on in the movie hint that all may not be as it seems as this woodland space could be a more permanent feature for our two lead stars.

These flashbacks hint at this purgatory that our cast finds themselves in but once again that’s where this film leaves the door wide open for viewers to make their own conclusions and whilst unsatisfying for the audience who will never get to find out the ‘right answer’ that the filmmakers were going for it still leaves us wanting more.

If you come out of Woodland Grey and you didn’t enjoy the film you can’t help but deny how beautiful it looks from frame 1 to the end credits.

The cinematography is insanely strong and certainly takes this film to a higher level for the sheer scenic artistry alone. 

With no words said just the sound of the woods, nature and its surroundings the woods feels as though it’s a character in its own right and with how the story pans out, maybe it is. The trees and leaves so unsuspecting and innocent during the day are turned into this prison of confinement, a place so tranquil yet a place so dark. Ultimately, a place of rest.

Certainly worth a watch to support independent Canadian filmmaking and a film that will certainly keep you guessing until the final frame.

It’s a gnarly ride where narrative and character development doesn’t apply. Woodland Grey demands your full attention and much like how our leads are trapped in the woods, our attention is firmly trapped on the screen with this one.

Woodland Grey review by Sean Evans