Blackwoods (film)
Encyclopedia
Blackwoods is a 2002 psychological thriller
film, directed by Uwe Boll
, making it his sixth feature length film and his second film in English, and starring Patrick Muldoon
and Clint Howard
. It is set in the titular Blackwoods.
) travels with his girlfriend Dawn (Keegan Connor Tracy
) on a vacation
to Blackwoods, only to discover a motel run by a quirky motel clerk (Clint Howard
), a deranged family
, and a horrific secret.
Matt is haunted by the death of a girl from a car accident he caused years ago. Matt was drunk and as he reached for the car radio, he struck the girl as she crossed the road. The guilt that he feels has altered his sense of reality, making Matt's life a mystery full of shadows and phantoms. Now, years later Matt goes away for weekend with his new girlfriend Dawn. After a wild session of lovemaking, Dawn goes for a walk. While she is away a strange man with an ax comes into the motel room and attacks Matt. After that incident Matt goes into the woods, looking for Dawn. There he encounters Dawn's family who tie him down and put him on trial for the murder of the girl years before. They find him guilty and he is sent back into the forest to be hunted down by the family. The deeper Matt runs into the forest the farther his mind is lost to the Blackwoods.
from the New York Times gave Blackwoods a positive review, describing it as "smarter and more diabolical than you could have guessed at the beginning." Lou Lumenick
of the New York Post
gave a more negative review, calling Blackwoods a "low rent, direct-to-video-caliber thriller."
The film contains several Boll trademarks, including but not limited to, multiple flashbacks, repeated use of slow-motion, and a twist ending.
It currently has an 11% 'rotten' rating on Rotten Tomatoes, becoming Uwe Boll's "best" film.
Psychological thriller
Psychological thriller is a specific sub-genre of the broad ranged thriller with heavy focus on characters. However, it often incorporates elements from the mystery and drama genre, along with the typical traits of the thriller genre...
film, directed by Uwe Boll
Uwe Boll
Uwe Boll is a German director, producer and screenwriter, whose work includes several films adapted from video games. He finances his own films through his Boll KG production company. He is often cited as the worst director of all time.-Early life:...
, making it his sixth feature length film and his second film in English, and starring Patrick Muldoon
Patrick Muldoon
Patrick Muldoon is an American actor.-Early life:Muldoon was born in San Pedro, California, the son of Deanna, a homemaker, and William Patrick Muldoon II, a personal injury lawyer. He is of Irish descent on his father's side and of Croatian descent on his mother's side...
and Clint Howard
Clint Howard
Clinton "Clint" Howard is an American film and television actor. He is a character actor with numerous brief appearances on television and films. He has played many bit parts in movies directed by his brother, actor-turned-director Ron Howard. He is also the uncle of actress Bryce Dallas Howard...
. It is set in the titular Blackwoods.
Plot
Matt Sullivan (Patrick MuldoonPatrick Muldoon
Patrick Muldoon is an American actor.-Early life:Muldoon was born in San Pedro, California, the son of Deanna, a homemaker, and William Patrick Muldoon II, a personal injury lawyer. He is of Irish descent on his father's side and of Croatian descent on his mother's side...
) travels with his girlfriend Dawn (Keegan Connor Tracy
Keegan Connor Tracy
Keegan Connor Tracy is a Canadian actress known for her roles as the ill-fated Kat Jennings in Final Destination 2 and Dawn/Molly in Blackwoods .She was born in Sarnia, Ontario...
) on a vacation
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
to Blackwoods, only to discover a motel run by a quirky motel clerk (Clint Howard
Clint Howard
Clinton "Clint" Howard is an American film and television actor. He is a character actor with numerous brief appearances on television and films. He has played many bit parts in movies directed by his brother, actor-turned-director Ron Howard. He is also the uncle of actress Bryce Dallas Howard...
), a deranged family
Family
In human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...
, and a horrific secret.
Matt is haunted by the death of a girl from a car accident he caused years ago. Matt was drunk and as he reached for the car radio, he struck the girl as she crossed the road. The guilt that he feels has altered his sense of reality, making Matt's life a mystery full of shadows and phantoms. Now, years later Matt goes away for weekend with his new girlfriend Dawn. After a wild session of lovemaking, Dawn goes for a walk. While she is away a strange man with an ax comes into the motel room and attacks Matt. After that incident Matt goes into the woods, looking for Dawn. There he encounters Dawn's family who tie him down and put him on trial for the murder of the girl years before. They find him guilty and he is sent back into the forest to be hunted down by the family. The deeper Matt runs into the forest the farther his mind is lost to the Blackwoods.
Cast
- Patrick MuldoonPatrick MuldoonPatrick Muldoon is an American actor.-Early life:Muldoon was born in San Pedro, California, the son of Deanna, a homemaker, and William Patrick Muldoon II, a personal injury lawyer. He is of Irish descent on his father's side and of Croatian descent on his mother's side...
as Matt Sullivan - Keegan Connor TracyKeegan Connor TracyKeegan Connor Tracy is a Canadian actress known for her roles as the ill-fated Kat Jennings in Final Destination 2 and Dawn/Molly in Blackwoods .She was born in Sarnia, Ontario...
as Dawn / Molly - Will SandersonWill SandersonWill Sanderson is a Canadian television and film actor.He is known for having a long working relationship with director Uwe Boll, having appeared in most of his video-game based movies such as House of the Dead, Alone in the Dark, BloodRayne and In the Name of the King.In 2007 he played the...
as Jim - Michael ParéMichael Paré- Early life :Paré was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Joan, a homemaker, and Francis Paré, who owned print shops. He had six sisters and three brothers. Paré's father was of French-Canadian ancestry and his mother of Irish ancestry....
as Sheriff Harding - Clint HowardClint HowardClinton "Clint" Howard is an American film and television actor. He is a character actor with numerous brief appearances on television and films. He has played many bit parts in movies directed by his brother, actor-turned-director Ron Howard. He is also the uncle of actress Bryce Dallas Howard...
as Greg / Motel Clerk - Anthony Harrison as Tail Man / Dr. Kelly
- Matthew WalkerMatthew Walker (Canadian actor)Matthew Walker is a film and television actor. He appeared in many Canadian television productions in the 1990s and 2000s. He played Father Mac in 22 episodes of the television series Hope Island, and Max Asher in 11 episodes of MythQuest...
as Pa Franklin - Janet WrightJanet WrightJanet Wright is a Canadian actress and theatre director. She is best known for her role as Emma Leroy on the hit Canadian sitcom Corner Gas. She won a 2003 Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Supporting Role in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series for her role in Betrayed...
as Ma Franklin - Sean Campbell as Jack Franklin
- Ben Derrick as John Franklin
- Michael EklundMichael EklundMichael Eklund is a Canadian actor, who has made numerous appearances in both television and film roles.-Acting career:Since 2006, Eklund has appeared as Vancouver Narcotics detective, Rene Dejardins, in CBC's drama, Intelligence....
as Billy / Man - Samantha FerrisSamantha FerrisSamantha Ferris is a Canadian actress and in the mid-1990s was a television reporter for the Bellingham, Washington station KVOS TV-12 and Vancouver's BCTV, where she went by the name Janie Ferris...
as Waitress / Beth - Patrick Dahlquist as Mrs. Sullivan
Critical reception
Stephen HoldenStephen Holden
Stephen Holden is an American writer, music critic, film critic, and poet.Holden earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Yale University in 1963...
from the New York Times gave Blackwoods a positive review, describing it as "smarter and more diabolical than you could have guessed at the beginning." Lou Lumenick
Lou Lumenick
Louis J. "Lou" Lumenick is an American film critic. He is the chief film critic and a blogger for the New York Post and has reviewed films there since 1999.-Life and career:Lumenick was born and raised in Astoria, Queens...
of the New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
gave a more negative review, calling Blackwoods a "low rent, direct-to-video-caliber thriller."
The film contains several Boll trademarks, including but not limited to, multiple flashbacks, repeated use of slow-motion, and a twist ending.
It currently has an 11% 'rotten' rating on Rotten Tomatoes, becoming Uwe Boll's "best" film.