one of the best horror films of all time

Rating: 10/10 (13 October 1999)

~spoilers~ Reasons why this movie is in my Top Five? The autumn woods, complete blackness, children laughing, branches cracking, the appearance of grave markers, dozens of stickmen in the trees, Mike screaming for Josh, crying, Josh howling in terror in the blackness, bloody teeth appearing out of nowhere, feeling alone, in the tent, dark, cold, hungry, what was that noise? We're gonna die out here.
For the naysayers: I find that most people who complain about elements of the film don't seem to understand said elements. Heather screaming was annoying? She only screamed at the end of the film. Too many curses? Every "R" rated movie has curses, and this is how people in this situation would talk. They were stupid, and didn't do the "smart" thing? Like what? The point of them hiking South all day and ending up in the same place was to show you that there were supernatural elements involved. They were not getting out of those woods no matter what they did. "Running like hell" would not have helped. (running? would that have REALLY made a difference?) They kept their supplies and tried to keep their wits about them. They could not FIND the car. That was the point. They went into the house because they thought Josh was in there. Scared of piles of rocks? Well, yes... they were grave markers and they appeared outside their tent! Heather found Josh's bloody teeth wrapped in his shirt! Scared? How foolish of them!
Originality, genuine creepiness, no need for traditional boring plot devices, no trendy Hollywood teens in tight shirts, no predictable writing. Just fresh original scares that will affect you for a long long time. This film began haunting me when I merely viewed the trailers several months ago on Haxan's Web site, I slept with the kitchen light on for 2 months, and since then I have been a proud Blairhead.