‘Hell is waiting for you’
Beyond the Woods is a 2017 horror film written and directed by Sean Breathnach, making his feature debut.
The movie stars Ross MacMahon, John Ryan Howard, Mark Lawrence and Irene Kelleher.
Plot:
Seven old friends get together for a reunion at a holiday home on the edge of a forest in Ireland. However, a sinkhole has opened nearby and is spewing hot sulphur.
The friends begin to act out of character and soon come to realise that something evil is also crossing through the sinkhole… it has opened a portal to Hell…
Release:
Beyond the Woods was released on DVD in the UK by Left Films on 19 February 2018.
Buy DVD: Amazon.co.uk
Reviews:
” …an hour of people bickering and fifteen minutes of inexplicable horror featuring a rags-wearing demon and some half-hearted possessed people […] This is a really dumb, tedious film and everyone involved in it should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves.” Dark Eyes of London
“It’s a small movie, but Beyond the Woods packs a hefty punch. Great performances and strong characterisation and storytelling means that this doesn’t feel lightweight. The first act could be a little tighter and I might have wanted a bit more gore, but this hits the spot in a way that few independent horrors rarely do.” Movies in Focus
“Once the film gets going it is distinctly creepy and tense, the plot taking enough twists to keep you from figuring out just what is going on something that extends up to an ending I didn’t expect. And it does all of this without relying on loads of gore.” Rogue Cinema
“It manages a couple of jump scares, but most of its unease comes out of the character interplay, with folks acting just a little off – either too laid-back about serious situations or too uptight about minutiae – and a last-minute gabble of exposition about the monster’s mission to harvest seven souls.” The Kim Newman Web Site
“While this certainly isn’t a perfect film – for example, if a creature can kill with a mere touch, why would he pick up an ax? – all things considered, it is a well done production that takes what we know and mixes it into a new-ish recipe.” Indie Horror Films
” …Beyond the Woods subverts the supernatural slasher concept by putting the power of life and death into the hands of the would-be victims, reversing commonplace horror film mores by exploring the psychological turmoil of the lambs before slaughter through the metaphor of neglected friendship.” The Movie Sleuth
“The scares don’t come fast and furiously and the dark and mysterious character and his/her possible connection to the stinkhole is never really explained, but in the end the scares from the unknown are far less terrifying then the very real prospect of adulthood lurking in the shadows.” The Scariest Things
Main cast:
Ross MacMahon
John Ryan Howard
Mark Lawrence
Irene Kelleher
Mark Lawrence
Claire J. Loy
Ruth Hayes
Seán McGillicuddy
Alan Riordan
