Meadowoods
Year: 2010
Directors: Scott Phillips
Stars: Connor Thorp, Michelle Row, Michael Downey
MPAA Rating: R
Studio: Monterey Media
Running Time: 88 Mins
Official Website: http://www.meadowoodsarmy.com




Going into "Meadowoods", I saw a film called "The Final" before seeing his film. Both films, have a common theme with young outcasts killing or torturing people. That film for itself was shocking for the amount of violence that takes place. But it's nothing compared to the psychological and horrifying aspects of this film.

The film takes place in a small town, where three college students decide to plot a murder that would shock the community. The three decide to keep a video journal so that they can memorialize what they are doing. They begin to devise a plot to building a homemade coffin so that they would be to see, feel, and hear the final moments of their victim's life. Then, they choose a person at random to recieve the most brutal and horrifying of all fates. Soon, there is hostility and contention that threatens the group's plan, as this culminates in one of the most shocking and violent conclusions that you will see, this year.

It’s early in the year to say this, but I’m going to say this anyway. “Meadowoods” is the most disturbing film that you will see, this year. One of the main reasons for that was the way that director Scott Phillips (no relation to the person that I interviewed for the site, last year) directs this more like a faux documentary. It’s the same style of storytelling that has made films like “The Last Broadcast” and “The Blair Witch Project” very dark and shocking, especially when you see it for the first time. By going for this style, there is more of a main focal and more realistic point on the characters, which was the case here. Another thing that helps this film very well, the editing.

Editing for these types of film need to be very good, as you need a certain flow to maintain your audience. Phillips along with producer Stuart Ball did a very good job with it, as it really goes into the disturbing mind of the main characters. It made me disturbed about how they are planning this act and kept my interest with the story aspects. Philip also does a good job making the performances have a realistic tone to them, especially in the third act where the action becomes very frightening and intense.

This film also can be described as a character study too, as the film follows these kids around during the course of the film. Writer Anna Siri does a very good job keeping the tone of film very dark and the sense that you feel like that the story was more reality based. By writing the story that way, it makes the characters interesting and the helps make the story appealing to fans that like these psychological horror films. Another thing Siri does very good was making the story feel like a character study about these groups of kids and its intended victim. She really goes into each of the emotions and insecurities that each of the have. That’s what makes this film very physiological, by getting a sense at what makes each of these characters tick. It makes it more interesting, then just creating a story that intends to kill characters every chance it gets. By going into what makes these characters tick through their action, it generates that disturbed moments that’s needed to get the audience’s attention and makes you frighten and makes everything shocking.

This is defiantly a horror film that fans should check out at your local video store, as this is more disturbing that After Dark’s “The Final”. It’s truly a film that you have to try and seek out, as it's one of the better films that I’ve seen this year. “Meadowoods” is a very disturbing and shocking psychological character study that will leave you in shock.

Review Rating: Five Stars.

"Meadowoods" Official Trailer

8 comments

  1. Anonymous // May 11, 2010 at 1:44 PM  

    Her name is spelled Michele Roe.

  2. Anonymous // May 26, 2010 at 6:07 PM  

    Ive read a few reviews now that paint this movie out to be kind of interesting and chilling. No. Its not. I went through a selection of movies online and picked this one at random. The name was what picked interest and i knew absolutely nothing about the film at the time. It was nothing like i thought it might be. Instead it was twisted and perverted and it actually made me feel sad that this is what movies are coming to. People aren't messed up enough already its like we have to keep giving them ideas. Anyway, the actors were dreadful and annoying. The whole time i wanted to shoot that blonde guy in the face. It was ridiculous! I wanted to slap some sense into them and tell them how retarded and pathetic they were. This film was a waste of time and money.

  3. Anonymous // June 6, 2010 at 8:06 PM  

    In search of a question I had about this movie (which I watched last night), I keep reading reviews about how amazing this movie is and how psychologically thrilling and amazing and great. It really wasn't. Maybe because I was with friends while watching the movie that it was less frightening, or whatever it was, but the movie was pretty much over an hour of complete stupidness and boredom until the ending, which left you hanging so much. I was mad after watching this movie.

  4. Anonymous // July 6, 2010 at 2:07 AM  

    The name of this movie made me curious and the only information I had about it in the beginning was from a couple of simple summaries. This movie is AWFUL! The acting is terrible, the plot is poorly done, the writing is worse than what a 2nd grader might do for a school paper. During the movie, the constant "Telling" of what they were going to do was overly redundant. Yes, this movie is severely twisted and I must agree that this world is already bad enough without someone making a movie about this sort of situation. There are people in this world who might actually try something like this - all because of this movie. Personally, I think it should be banned from all countries and... not only because of the content, but for the horribly poor quality and acting. I also have to agree that it is pretty sad when movies come to this abysmally low level. The ONLY horror about this movie is in knowing I actually watched it.

  5. Anonymous // July 22, 2010 at 3:30 PM  

    Ok, so it's not a great movie, deffinitelly. But if you were to belive that it's the movies, video games and TV that make people commit horid crimes - oh, come on. The movie is long, bit borring, but it does paint a great picture of american society, and I do belive that it was the attention behind it.

  6. Anonymous // July 27, 2010 at 8:39 AM  

    this movie was downright terrible! I would not recomend this peice of trash for anyone to see.

  7. Anonymous // October 15, 2010 at 10:39 PM  

    After renting this movie from redbox, I regret wasting even a dollar because this film is not even worth that much. Without a question it was the worst film I have ever seen. The acting was absolutely embarrassing and as the viewer I developed a deep hatred for each one of the protagonists simply by watching it. After the first scene even listening to their voices made me cringe. The plot was predictable and the only suspense I felt was how many more minutes until it was over. The ending left me angry and ready to get into a physical altercation with someone. If it is possible for a movie to ruin the career of any actor or production team I can only hope that it does that for every person who was involving in the making of this film. None of them deserve to work in hollywood and have the ability to take any greater time away from the lives of those who have had the misfortune of watching this movie.

  8. Anonymous // October 23, 2010 at 11:38 PM  

    This movie was so awful, I dozed off...not something that should happen in a "thriller"! The biggest thrill was when it was finally over. So yes, there are some clear social dilemmas in this movie that touch the real life horror of reality, but not enough of a plot for a full length film. This would have made a great story on the Twilight Zone. There was only enough plot for ten minutes, fifteen tops. The acting was atrocious!!!!!! This movie was nothing more than a Blare Witch Project wanna be with even less talent, less plot, and less action.