**This is a spoiler-free review so feel free to read on!**
“Deep in the woods lies a secret door…”
The Girl in the Woods released on October 21st 2021 on Peacock with all eight episodes available to stream now. The supernatural drama series stars Stefanie Scott, Sofia Bryant, Misha Osherovich, Will Yun Lee and Leonard Roberts. Each episode runs for approximately 25-30 minutes.
A young runaway flees a cult destined to protect the world from the monsters beyond the door when she crosses paths with two new friends in West Pine, Oregon, as their two worlds collide.
Here is the trailer:
The Girl in the Woods has a familiar formula that has worked for shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the more recent Warrior Nun, but does this show do enough to find its own identity? Let’s find out…
The Pros:
Images courtesy of Peacock
Creepy flickers here and there.
The door that Carrie is sworn to protect can unleash monsters from our nightmares and some of the ones we see are actually kind of terrifying and creepy in a good way. I think that the premise is a decent one and the woods can be terrifying on their own, creating a supernatural mystery that has some potential.
The Cons:
Images courtesy of Peacock
A chosen one without any edge.
Shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Stranger Things, and even Warrior Nun understood the importance of having an empowering chosen one to really light up the screen. Unfortunately I didn’t really connect with our chosen one in this series…at all.
The acting wasn’t horrible, but there was just no personality and even though we are supposed to understand that she grew up away from society, I needed more layers to truly care about her.
I actually connected more with the two friends who had some redeeming qualities. We form another type of Scooby gang (which had its moments), but it wasn’t enough to spark any real interest here.
Really predictable…
I really made a valiant effort to connect to the mystery even with the bland chosen one, but a lot of the reveals were just so predictable and uninspiring. There were moments meant to create some kind of emotional response in the audience and yet I found myself frustrated and really bored unfortunately.
There was no real humor in this show either and the lighting was so dreary. The episodes are only about twenty-five minutes each, which should make this easy to binge-watch, and yet I found myself checking the time, which is never a good sign in terms of pacing.
So am I in or out?
Images courtesy of Peacock
Unfortunately I’m out on this one…
If you are going to use a popular formula, you need to really make sure it delivers and this one just felt extremely forgettable. I needed so much more from this show and even though there were some glimmers of potential sprinkled in, the creepy vibe was stifled by the uninspiring main character and the overall predictable and bland feel of the show.
I’d recommend re-watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer instead.
I hope you enjoyed the review and feel free to post your own thoughts and theories on The Girl in the Woods in the comments section below. Thanks so much for reading and happy viewing!
Best,
Amy Koto, TV Fanatic Girl
DON’T TAKE THE JOB…
It was only supposed to be temporary…but when Olivia Crewe accepts a new position that seems too good to be true, she soon discovers that twelve other girls previously had the same job as her. Only none of them lasted for more than thirty days. No notice. Nothing…right before they mysteriously disappeared without a trace.
My supernatural thriller Girl Number Thirteen is out now! I hope you enjoy!
Girl Number Thirteen is available here!
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