Tag Archives: The Woods

10 Films For The Weekend (6/20/25)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Hail To The King, Baby

This Sunday is Bruce Campbell’s birthday.  Our own Case Writes will be reviewing Bruce’s two autobiographies on that day.  Here’s a few films you can watch while celebrating.

Sadly, the first three Evil Dead films are not streaming anywhere for free this weekend.  However, Bubba Ho-Tep (2002), which features Bruce as a nursing home resident who may or may not actually be Elvis Presley, is available on Tubi.  This is definitely Bruce’s best non-Ash performance and there’s actually something very touching about the idea of an elderly and forgotten Elvis teaming up with John F. Kennedy (Ossie Davis) to battle an ancient mummy.  There’s a lot of humor to be found in this film but there’s also a definite strain of melancholy and Bruce gives a truly moving performance as someone who you’ll want to believe in.  The film is on Tubi.

Maniac Cop (1988) is nowhere near as good as the Evil Dead films or Bubba Ho-Tep but it does give audiences a chance to see Bruce giving a relatively “serious” performance as a policeman who is accused of a murder that was actually committed by a hulking zombie cop.  Not only does this film feature Bruce Campbell but it’s also got Tom Atkins, William Smith, Richard Roundtree, and Robert Z’Dar.  If nothing else, this film is a tribute to exploitation canniness.  Director William Lustig and screenwriter Larry Cohen understood that the idea of dangerous cop would remain compelling one long after the film’s initial release and, as such, Maniac Cop retains a definite cult appeal.  The film is on Tubi.

Sadly, Bruce Campbell is killed off rather early in Maniac Cop 2 (1990).  That’s a shame because the second film is a lot better than the first one.  Robert Davi plays the detective who won’t be pushed around while Robert Z’Dar takes the maniac cop’s search for revenge to a whole other level.  Leo Rossi is memorably unhinged.  Personally, I would have liked to have seen Bruce try to take a chainsaw to the Maniac Cop but it was not be.  Maniac Cop 2 can be viewed on Tubi.

Finally, The Woods (2006) is a sadly underrated horror film, one the features Bruce in a supporting role as a loving dad.  Agnes Bruckner give a wonderful performance in the lead role, investigating her mysterious school and taking way too much abuse just because she has red hair.  Hey, I’ve been there!  I’m just happy that “fire crotch” didn’t catch on the way that “Gingers have no soul” did. (Seriously, the redheads have no soul thing was funny when South Park did it but everyone else needs to shut up about it.)  The Woods is an atmospheric horror film from Lucky McKee and one that I would recommend even if it wasn’t Bruce Campbell’s birthday.  View it on Tubi.

Pleasures, Guilty And Otherwise

Seriously, if I had to suggest one non-Bruce Campbell movie to you for this weekend, it would be my favorite Lifetime film, True Confessions of a Go-Go Girl (2008).  Chelsea Hobbs plays a recent college graduate who realizes that she can either waste more of her life in law school or she can just make a bunch of money by being a …. GO-GO GIRL!  The use of the anachronistic term “go-go girl” really does get to the charm of this movie, which manages to be both enjoyably trashy and quaintly old-fashioned at the same time.  Hobbs discovers that she loves to dance and that men love to watch her dance.  Her wimpy boyfriend freaks out when Hobbs goes from being a meek “good” girl to an aggressive temptress.  The film is at its best when its embracing the decadence and the melodrama.  On stage, Hobbs is empowered and I was all about that.  Of course, Hobbs has to using hard drugs and learn a lesson because that’s the way these films go.  Still, this one is a lot of fun and it features Corbin Bernsen doing his somewhat sleazy father figure thing.  Find this film on Prime.

The Perfect Teacher (2010) is also available on Prime and you need to watch it because it features my favorite line of all time.  “I can be your dream …. or I can be your NIGHTMARE!”  This is another perfect Lifetime film and it can be viewed here!

The Wrong Cheerleader (2019) is one of the best of Lifetime’s wonderfully over-the-top “Wrong” film, featuring Degrassi’s Cristine Prosperi and, of course, Vivica A. Fox.  “Looks like he messed with the wrong cheerleader.”  Hell yeah!  It’s on YouTube.  (I have a feeling that if I ever hire someone incompetent, Vivica A. Fox will show up at my door and say, “Girl, looks like you hired the wrong landscaping crew.”)

The Babysitter’s Seduction (1996) was not originally made for Lifetime but it definitely found a home there.  Keri Russell is the innocent babysitter.  Stephen Collins is the handsome but sleazy guy who seduces her and then tries to frame her for killing his wife.  This film’s twists was probably more effective back when Stephen Collins was still best-known as Rev. Camden as opposed to being known for …. other things.  But it’s still a top-notch example of embracing the melodrama.   It can be viewed on Tubi.

From the best Lifetime films, let’s now consider the best SyFy films.  Jersey Shore Shark Attack (2010) not only features Tony Sirico, Paul Sorvino, and Jack Scalia but it also features characters with names like Nooki, TC, and Paulie Balzac dealing with killer sharks in New Jersey.  Joey Fatone appears as himself and is promptly eaten.  Of the many shark films to have been produced by the Asylum, this is definitely one of the best.  It’s on Tubi!

Directed by actor Bruce Davison, Bigfoot (2012) not only features the title character but it also includes Danny Bonaduce, Barry Williams, and Sherilyn Fenn amongst the cast.  Alice Cooper plays himself and meets a less-than-heroic end.  This Asylum film is a true classic.  It’s on Tubi!

(Click here for last week’s recommendations.)

4 Shots From Horror History: Shaun of the Dead, The Devil’s Rejects, Land of the Dead, The Woods

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

This October, I’m going to be doing something a little bit different with my contribution to 4 Shots From 4 Films.  I’m going to be taking a little chronological tour of the history of horror cinema, moving from decade to decade.

Today, we continue to the aughts!

4 Shots From 4 Films

Shaun of the Dead (2004, dir by Edgar Wright)

Shaun of the Dead (2004, dir by Edgar Wright)

The Devil's Rejects (2005, dir by Rob Zombie)

The Devil’s Rejects (2005, dir by Rob Zombie)

Land of the Dead (2005, dir by George Romero)

Land of the Dead (2005, dir by George Romero)

The Woods (2006, dir by Lucky McKee)

The Woods (2006, dir by Lucky McKee)

What Lisa Marie Watched Last Night #93: The Woods (dir by Lucky McKee)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Last night, I turned over to Chiller and watched the brilliant 2006 horror film, The Woods.

Why Was I Watching It?

I ended up watching The Woods almost at random.  I didn’t want to go out last night because it’s Texas-OU weekend and that meant that the streets of Dallas would probably be full of drunk people from Tulsa.  Even more importantly, I couldn’t go out because I’m recovering from a sprained ankle.

Normally, under those circumstances, I would have watched and live tweeted an original SyFy film.  However, last night, SyFy was showing Fright Night which I had little interest in sitting through.  So, instead, I turned over to Chiller and decided to give The Woods a try.

And that is how I randomly discovered one of the best horror films that I’ve recently seen.

What Was It About?

The year is 1965.  Angry teenager Heather (Agnes Bruckner) starts a fire in a forest.  Frustrated by their daughter’s rebellious nature, her parents enroll her at Falburn Academy, a boarding school that sits in the middle of the woods.   Because she is the only redhead at the school, Heather is an immediate outsider who finds herself being taunted by the blonde Samantha (Rachel Nichols) and called “Firecrotch” by her other classmates.

However, Heather has more problems that just a bunch of anti-redhead bigots.  She has nightmares where voices seem to call to her from the woods.  Her friends Marcy and Ann both disappear from their beds, leaving behind a pile of dead leaves.  Meanwhile, the school’s mysterious headmistress (Patricia Clarkson) insists that nothing strange is happening…

What Worked?

I wasn’t expecting much from The Woods.  After all, it was a film that was released straight-to-DVD in 2006 and Chiller doesn’t exactly have a reputation for showing the best films.   But, oh my God, y’all — The Woods turned out to be such a good film!   The Woods is an atmospheric and surprisingly well-acted film that’s full of haunting imagery and memorable details.  Much like Dario Argento’s Suspiria (which has a similar plot to this film), The Woods is a triumph of both style and substance.

While the entire film is well-acted, special mention should be made of Patricia Clarkson, who gives a performance that is both menacing and humorous.  Genre fans will be happy to see Bruce Campbell in the role of Bruckner’s well-meaning father.

Finally, I have to admit that, as a member of the 2% of the population who have been blessed with red hair, I have a special appreciation for this film.  Behind all of the scares, The Woods provides a compelling portrait of the discrimination that those of us with red hair struggle with every single day.  From the minute Heather enters Falburn Academy, she is the subject of constant prejudice because of the color of her hair.  As someone who has had to endure countless comments about redheads not having souls, I both related to and appreciated the film’s sensitivity to those of us in the 2%.

What Did Not Work?

Over on the film’s imdb page, there’s some debate as to whether or not the term “Firecrotch” was in use back in 1965.  Personally, I think that’s nitpicking.  The fact of the matter is that anti-redhead prejudice has always been with us.  If people in the 60s didn’t attack us by calling us “Firecrotch,” they undoubtedly called us something equally bad.  As far as I’m concerned, the entire film worked perfectly.

“Oh my God!  Just like me!” Moments

Almost the entire film was an “Oh my God!  Just like me!” moment, largely because the main character was a redhead and had to deal with constant anti-redhead prejudice.  (“Oh my God!  Just like me!”)

At one point, Samantha taunts Heather by asking, “Is your pubic hair red?” which is the exact same question that I got asked several times throughout high school, though in my case, I was usually asked by a guy with a smirk on his face.  (“You’ll never know,” I would reply.)  Heather then finds herself being repeatedly called “Firecrotch” by people who are jealous of her red hair and again, oh my god!  Just like me!

Finally, as I mentioned above, I sprained my ankle last Wednesday and, as such, I’ve spent the last few days recovering.  Amazingly enough, about halfway through the film, Heather twists her ankle.  She spends the rest of the movie either on crutches or painfully limping.  Oh my God!  Just like me!

(As a quick aside, can I just say how much I HATE crutches!?  Oh my God, they’re the worst…)

Lessons Learned

I am tempted to say that the main lesson to be learned from The Woods is that it’s not easy being a redhead.  However, I knew that before I watched the film.  I also knew that you should stay out of the woods, which is the main reason why you’ll never catch me camping.

So, the most important lesson that I learned is that everyone should see The Woods.

Redheads Unite