The Woods Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

The Woods Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman September 18, 2025

Lucky McKee has had an eventful recent run in the high definition world, with Lionsgate Limited having released May a couple of months ago and Arrow itself having released The Woman 4K last year. As some of the supplements on this disc get into, The Woods was McKee's first "mainstream" studio film, greenlit in the wake caused by the reaction May received at Sundance, and it was, as McKee himself kind of joyfully admits in one supplement, his first time actually getting paid to make a film. The result has some of the same indie spirit that informed May, even if it offers a somewhat more "traditional" horror setting that is almost unavoidably reminiscent of Suspiria in particular (as even the back cover of the release doesn't shy away from mentioning).

Heather Fasulo (Agnes Bruckner) is an allegedly out of control teen being spirited away to the isolated Falburn Academy by her father Joe (Bruce Campbell) and harridan mother Alice (Emma Campbell). While headmistress Ms. Traverse (Patricia Clarkson) insists the school isn't for "wayward girls", it sure seems like it is, especially after Heather starts meeting some of the other misfits boarding there, chief among them the nerdy Marcy Turner (Lauren Birkell) and mean girl Samantha Wise (Rachel Nichols). Making things even worse is Heather's seeming deteriorating mental state, where she's regularly beset by both auditory and visual hallucinations (or are they?).

The Woods is strong on mood and has some especially effective performances, but its narrative borders on the nonsensical, especially once the "Moishe the Explainer" bits start cropping up late in the film. Suffice it to say that much like in the famous Argento film, the staff of the school may have a few secrets up their sleeve (and/or cowl, as the case may be).

The Woods Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Woods is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. Arrow's insert booklet provides only the following minimal information about the presentation:

The Woods is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1 [sic] with original 5.1 audio.

The high definition master was produced and deliverd by MGM via Park Circus.

While this presentation has a number of pluses, it's another "pre delivered" master that I feel might have benefitted from some extra tweaking, especially with regard to color timing and suffusion. The entire presentation is just slightly anemic looking with a tendency toward browns, but the more brightly lit outdoor moments in particular offer some good pop, and Heather's bright red hair (there's some funny background on that offered in the interview with Bruckner on the disc) is typically quite vivid. Detail levels also understandably tend to fare best in the better lit moments. Some of the special effects are a bit on the hokey side (the dry ice fog is one notable example), but some of the "living woods" moments are quite effective and creepy and offer decent detailing. Grain resolves without any issues.

The Woods Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Woods features a nicely immersive DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. Probably the most effective surround activity involves the encroachment of those aforementioned "living woods", but even some of the school material offers clear engagement of the side and rear channels for ambient environmental effect placement. John Frizzell's score is also nicely immersive, and the film utilizes some Lesley Gore material to good effect. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

The Woods Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary by Lucky McKee and Walter Chaw


• Into the Woods (HD; 25:10) is a 2025 interview with Lucky McKee and storyboard artist Vanessa McKee.


• You Don't Own Me (HD; 11:52) is a 2025 interview with Agnes Bruckner.


• Storyboard Gallery (HD; 7:56)


• Ten Days on Set (HD; 39:47) is footage culled from Lucky McKee's personal archive.


• Trailer (HD; 2:05)


• Image Gallery

An insert booklet contains two good essays (including one by "superfan" and co-commentator Walter Chaw), along with the usual cast / crew and technical information. Packaging features a slipcover.

The Woods Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Evidently the universe or whoever/whatever is in charge of such things really wanted me to see The Woods. In doing background research for other editions in preparation for writing this review, I found this old Region A release from Olive Films, which was assigned to me when I was covering that label, but which Olive must have never sent a screener for, since I didn't review it. My hunch is that old Olive disc was probably bare bones, which may make this the obvious choice for fans, at least for those who can handle a Region B disc. Technical merits are generally solid if arguably improvable on the video side of things, and the supplements very appealing. Recommended.