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[Blu-ray Review] ‘Backcountry’ is Sure to Keep You Out of the Woods
Backcountry is one of the most surprising movies I’ve watched in recent memory. I couldn’t have possibly had less expectations. And what do you know, I ended up loving it! What a pleasant surprise.
Alex and Jenn, a young couple played by Jeff Roop and Missy Peregrym, head out for a weekend camping trip. This is Jenn’s first camping trip and she’s actually quite scared of what they might encounter. Alex assures her everything will be fine. Having grown up in and around these woods, Alex claims to be an expert so much so that he turns down a map when the park ranger offers him one. The trip starts off fine enough but by day two the couple is lost.
As Alex and Jenn desperately try and find their way in the woods they notice a few signs that suggest a bear might be near by. Before long they actually come face to face with a black bear. Now not only must Alex and Jenn find their way out of the woods but they also have a bear to worry about. I’m no expert, but this doesn’t really feel like an ideal camping situation.
I was pretty much on edge the entire time I was watching Backcountry. Going into the film I knew it was about a bear attack so writer/director Adam MacDonald was working with a pretty sizable advantage to build suspense. The whole time you’re watching you’re waiting for a bear attack. Luckily MacDonald wisely chose not to rely solely on that fact.
Other elements are tossed in to help build the tension. On the couple’s first night in the middle of the woods they encounter a strange individual named Brad played by Eric Balfour. Brad’s an interesting character. He seems like a nice enough guy, just out enjoying the wilderness, no different than Alex and Jenn. And yet, there’s something creepy about him. You can’t fully trust him. This is a great little role for Balfour. He nails it, even pulling off a pretty convincing Irish accent.
I don’t want to spoil too much of the film but the bear does find them and he does attack. While the bear attack scenes are brief, they’re quite gruesome. If you have a weak stomach you may be best suited covering your eyes during these moments.
A heavily wooded area is such a wonderful location for a horror film. The whole time Alex and Jenn are trapped in the middle of nowhere, yet at the same time they’re just on the outskirts of civilization. Head in the right direction and it won’t be long before they reach safety, but head in the wrong direction and they go further and further into the dangerous unknown.
This is what freaked me out so much about Backcountry. I feel like this could easily happen to me. I live in Portland, a city founded in the middle of the woods. This is black bear country. In my mind bears, just like the one in Backcountry, are constantly circling me, just waiting to make their move. This movie just reinforces my thoughts. I already hated camping and thanks to Backcountry I’m now terrified of it.
Backcountry is a supremely scary little flick. How any reasonably sane human being can think camping is a good idea after viewing it is beyond me. Be smart. Don’t go into the woods.
Backcountry is now available on Blu-ray from IFC Midnight and Scream Factory.
Scream Factory brought Frank LaLoggia’s 1988 Halloween movie Lady in White to Blu-ray several years back, and now Vinegar Syndrome gives the film a 4K Ultra HD upgrade.
Vinegar Syndrome’s Lady in White 4K release is available now and shipping now!
Watch the trailer below and grab your copy from Vinegar Syndrome today.
This limited edition 4-disc 4K UHD/Blu-ray x 3 set comes with a spot gloss hard slipcase + slipcover combo (designed by Dylan Haley), includes a 40-page perfect bound book and is limited to 8,000 units. It is only available on their website and at select indie retailers.
The full Special Features package includes…
- 4-disc Set: 1x 4K Ultra HD (High Bitrate BD100) / 3x Region A Blu-ray
- 4K UHD presented in Dolby Vision High-Dynamic-Range
- Newly scanned & restored in 4K from its 35mm original camera negative
- Presented in three versions: 126-min Pre-Release Director’s Cut (UHD+BD), the 118-min Extended Home Video Cut (BD), and the 113-min Theatrical Cut (BD)
- New group commentary track with writer/director Frank LaLoggia, alongside actors Lukas Haas, Joelle Jacobi, and Len Cariou for the Pre-Release Director’s Cut
- New commentary track with Frank LaLoggia, moderated by Scott Neumyer for the Extended Home Video Cut
- New commentary track with authors Emma Westwood and Stephen A. Russell for the Extended Home Video Cut
- Archival commentary track with Frank LaLoggia for the Extended Home Video Cut
- “Learning How to Fly” (10 min) – an interview with actress Karen Powell
- “A Snapshot in Time” (9 min) – an interview with actress Lisa Taylor
- “Human Touches” (6 min) – an interview with actress Lucy Lee Flippin
- “Still Relevant” (16 min) – an interview with actress Rose Weaver
- “75% Listening, 25% Editing” (9 min) – an interview with editor Steve Mann
- “Welcome to Willowpoint Falls” (6 min) – a location featurette hosted by Benjamin Scrivens, founder of Fright-Rags
- “Dream Talking: Looking Back” – a visual group commentary for the Pre-Release Director’s Cut with Frank LaLoggia, and actors Lukas Haas, Joelle Jacobi, and Len Cariou (103 min)
- Deleted Scenes with introduction and optional commentary by writer/director Frank LaLoggia (36 min)
- Behind-the-scenes footage with introduction and optional commentary by writer/director Frank LaLoggia (16 min)
- Extended behind-the-scenes footage (73 min)
- Introduction from the 20th anniversary dvd release
- Promotional ‘industry sales’ trailer (7 min)
- 40-page perfect bound book with essays by film historians Molly Henery, Mark H. Harris, and Heidi Honeycutt (limited edition only)
- Multiple radio spots
- Theatrical trailer
- Multiple TV spots
- Workprint trailers (7 min)
- Still gallery
- Reversible sleeve artwork
- English SDH subtitles
1962. Nine-year-old Frankie Scarlatti enjoys a homespun childhood in a rustic Western New York town. The entire community gets into the spirit of Halloween, but then two bullies prank Frankie by locking him in his school cloakroom, leaving him trapped for the night. Alone and afraid, his slumber is interrupted when the ghost of a little girl appears, and Frankie witnesses the specter of her murder by an unseen assailant. Later, while recovering at home, the girl’s ghost appears to him again. With help from his older brother, Frankie begins investigating the circumstances of her death. He soon discovers that her murder was one of several unsolved crimes connected to a local child-killer. As the town’s bucolic veneer fades and long-buried secrets and tensions bubble to the surface, all of the clues to the mystery seem to point towards a huge mansion inhabited by a reclusive woman known as “The Lady in White.”
A nostalgia-driven ghost story wrapped within an intricate murder mystery and coming-of-age drama, writer-director-composer Frank LaLoggia’s passion project Lady in White remains one of the most beautiful and original American horror films of the 1980s. Featuring acclaimed actors Alex Rocco (The Godfather), Len Cariou (Executive Decision), and Sydney Lassick (Carrie, The Unseen), it boasts the first starring role by Lukas Haas (Mars Attacks, Inception) as well as breathtaking photography by Academy Award® winner Russell Carpenter (True Lies, The Lawnmower Man). Vinegar Syndrome is honored to bring this genre masterpiece to 4K UHD, newly restored from its original 35mm camera negative and presented in three versions: its pre-release director’s cut, its extended home-video version, and its original theatrical version, along with an abundance of both new and archival extras.
Paul Lê wrote here on Bloody Disgusting back in 2023, “Over the years, fans have described this film as gateway horror, but they liken it more to The Watcher in the Woods than, say, Hocus Pocus or Casper. There are chilling moments that warrant its PG-13 rating.”
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