Review of The Barrens (2012) by Joe A — 08 Oct 2012

The Barrens is a moody and atmospheric horror thriller set in New Jersey's famous Pine Barrens and dealing with it's legendary occupant. Stephen Moyer (whose heavy Australian accent is odd here since he is playing someone who has lived here since childhood) plays an emotionally troubled man taking his wife (Mia Kirshner with delightfully distracting cleavage) and family (Allie MacDonald and Peter DaCunha) on a family camping trip to the Pine Barrens.

But, not only is Moyer's Richard a bit stressed, he also has been bitten by a dog that might have rabies. Add to that having possibly seen the Jersey Devil as a child and we have a great mix for a really interesting family outing.

Despite it's convoluted set-up, Barrens is actually an entertaining horror. Obviously Moyer starts to see things and then people start to go missing and we are left to wonder is Richard hallucinating or is the Jersey Devil real and poor delusional dad taking blame for it's actions.

And I must say Darren Lynn Bousman keeps you guessing and keeps the film filled with an atmosphere of dread as we slowly learn what's going on... or do we? That's what makes this deliberately paced thriller work so well, just when we think we have the facts, we get handed more reasons to doubt.

The cast all perform well, Kirshner is a little too deadpan at times but, not enough to hurt the film. I personally liked her hot girl-next-door MILF because she wasn't playing the role that way, it came across naturally.

There is some nice gore and make up effects to go along with Bousman's visual style which is one thing he always delivers whether his films work or not. They always look good. All in all probably the best film I've seen on the subject of Jersey's most elusive resident so far and while Bousman does give us a definitive answer by the last shot.

.. you'll have to investigate The Barrens to find out what it is.