12 Underrated Horror Movie Gems From The 2000s

Not exactly the best advertisement for a Spanish holiday, The Backwoods follows 2 married couples spending time in an isolated woodland home. It’s 1978 in the Basque Country, Northern Spain where Englishman Paul brings his Spanish wife Isabel, English pal Norman and his wife Lucy to his grandmother’s old home.

Initially a curious drama about 2 very different married couples, The Backwoods quickly degenerates into fearsome fare when Paul and Norman discover a deformed girl in the woods. Locked away in an abandoned building, they make the inevitably catastrophic decision to bring her back to their house.

Reminiscent of rustic nightmare flicks such as Deliverance and Straw Dogs, The Backwoods delves into the fears of being an outsider in an increasingly hateful wilderness. Packed with disturbing scenes and woodland chases, the film expertly creates slow burning tension. It also boasts British favourites Gary Oldman and Paddy Considine, both of whom are on typically excellent form.

Increasingly bleak and disquieting, The Backwoods ends on a vicious bang rather than the dreaded whimper of many weaker paced horror flicks out there. A must watch for fans of terror in the great outdoors.