Film Review – The Barrens

I applaud writer/director Darren Lynn Bousman’s attempts to keep the
spirit of low-budget horror alive, scripting stories that prey on fears
of the apocalyptic unknown and the mentally unstable. However, with
efforts such as “11-11-11” and a remake of “Mother’s Day,” the helmer’s
ambitions are far more interesting to dissect than his movies. Add “The
Barrens” to the pile of promising failures, with the creator isolating
the drive to seek and destroy the legendary Jersey Devil, which promises
to be an enticing feature of creepy woodsy remoteness, populated with
characters touched by madness. Bousman doesn’t have the vision to hoist
the horror up high, settling on a mundane camping thriller only
sporadically enlivened by mysterious violence. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com