Rootwood (2018) Review
ROOTWOOD follows two students who host ‘The Spooky Hour’, a podcast about paranormal phenomena and urban legends. When they are hired by a Hollywood film producer to shoot a horror documentary about the curse of The Wooden Devil, they smell their chance to become famous. Together, with their friend, they enter Rootwood Forest and investigate the area to find out the truth about The Wooden Devil and his victims.
Scripted by Mario von Czapiewski (CANNIBAL DINER), ROOTWOOD stars Tyler Gallant (ALPHA WOLF), Elissa Dowling (TALES OF HALLOWEEN), Sarah French (THE AMITYVILLE MURDERS), Felissa Rose (Sleepaway Camp), Tiffani Fest (CIRCUS OF THE DEAD) and Brandon Rhea (FEARLESS).
Initially ROOTWOOD looked to be shaping up to be something that we’ve seen a hundred times before – a bunch of younger folks head into the middle of nowhere to shoot footage for a documentary about an urban legend – but thanks to some better than expected acting, lush California wood surrounds and a twist or two in the tale ROOTWOOD ends up being an unexpected delight.
Unlike others of this ilk the main characters are well-rounded and likeable, yes you read that right, they’re likeable which affords us an emotional investment which elsewhere in this sub-genre is left wanting. The film’s strongest card comes in the form of Elissa Dowling as Jessica, who is not only compulsively watchable but utterly compelling too. Her performance is one of the best that I have seen in the horror genre for quite some time.
When the ‘demon’ finally appears on camera I was left feeling that perhaps seeing less of it and leaving it to the imagination would have been more effective. That said, things were not as they seemed, so don’t go writing it off. I had the rug pulled out of my feet a couple of times watching ROOTWOOD and that’s coming from a film reviewer who thinks that he has seen it all. An unexpected delight!
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