DOUBLE FEATURE — Lurkin Woods and Creeper in the Woods (on Mometu)

As was said in The Witch, “There is evil in the wood.” Now that Summer is in full swing and folks are making their way out to the various parks and outdoor activities, I’m reviewing two movies from the Mometu streaming app that show us why the woods may not be the best place to be: Lurkin Woods and Creeper in the Woods.

In Lurkin Woods, a masked killer hunts down six friends as they holiday at a cabin in the Australian bush. The friends are slowly cut off from their escape avenues as the villain ends their lives one-by-one; they are soon met with a surprising realization that makes the murders all the more horrible.

I don’t know if it was because this movie was Australian so I was unfamiliar with the landscape, or what, but right off the bat, Lurkin Woods was great at creating many places for the killer to hide and travel through. The friends partake in a scavenger hunt in the woods near their rental home, and you can really feel the vastness and isolation of the area around them. While the amount of blood was small for the stabbing wounds these people endured, it was definitely made up for when the killer is revealed. Speaking of the killer, I appreciate how the mask fit in with the wooded theme, looking like the bark from a tree. Another plus is that the group feels like a real group of friends and not a group of actors just put together. It’s daytime horror, so the vibe is inherently slightly less scary; that said, any masked maniac chasing you through the woods is going to illicit some sort of fear response!

Like Lurkin Woods, Creeper in the Woods follows a group of friends on a camping trip, soon fighting for their lives from a deranged killer. Here, second verse same as the first with a masked maniac — but this time, there’s two of them!

Although Creeper in the Woods has the same premise, it has a markedly different vibe from Lurkin Woods. The mask used, for one, is a lot crazier (as are the killers themselves). The stakes are high as well, with country bumpkin killers against these city kids with little prep to survive out in the wilderness if something goes wrong. The blood is roughly the same amount, however there are a few practical effects that stuck out as pretty cool to see. Creeper in the Woods picks up about halfway through the movie, and although the beginning is a little slow, we do spend a good amount of time getting to know the characters, which was helpful. With the palm-laden wooded area, sticky, sweaty blood, and relentless chase scenes, Creeper in the Woods was a classic slasher for a great price!

I love the woods, and I love camping trips. But I never forget that I am out of my element and can be taken out at any moment. Wild animals aren’t the only ones to be feared in these two films!

Watch Lurkin Woods and Creeper in the Woods for free now on Mometu!