Nobody Sleeps In The Woods Tonight is a 2020 Polish slasher movie about your typical group of teenagers menaced in the titular woods by a murderous maniac. Our protagonists — as you would expect, the group includes the Jock, the Slut, the Nerd, and of course the Final Girl — begin the story sent to a tech detox marching camp, as a punishment-slash-therapy session for their Internet addiction. Unfortunately, this only leaves them vulnerable when the friendly local murderous maniac(s) accidentally end up released into the wild. Needless to say, mayhem ensues.
So, why watch this movie?
Well, if you are a horror movie buff, then you know well enough the question is rather 'why not?'. But what if you aren't?
In that case, first, I'd call it a decent example of an orthodox, strictly formula teen slasher which is easily available by online movie streaming. There are no crude attempts at one-upping the competition with gore, porn (torture or just vanilla), or some other sort of edgelordery. Just a wholesome teen slash you can watch to scratch that cinephile itch and leave with the comforting satisfaction of having expanded the range of genres you have experienced. Second reason is that Poland was never a producer of horror movies; there's a claim to be made the last good one was Dybbuk, and that one was made before the War. Nobody... is therefore a piece of decent genre cinema coming from an unexpected place, and a universal piece to boot. See, unlike many bad attempts at gimmick marketing, there's no heavy-handed shoving of local peculiarities into the story — save for some small details it could have been set anywhere else. For some, it might be a downside, but think of it this way: does it prove the universal potential of the slasher movie formula? You can be the judge of that. And that adds a lot to this movie appeal even — especially — if you're not one to watch slashers otherwise.
Film It's Average, but that's So Okay
Nobody Sleeps In The Woods Tonight is a 2020 Polish slasher movie about your typical group of teenagers menaced in the titular woods by a murderous maniac. Our protagonists — as you would expect, the group includes the Jock, the Slut, the Nerd, and of course the Final Girl — begin the story sent to a tech detox marching camp, as a punishment-slash-therapy session for their Internet addiction. Unfortunately, this only leaves them vulnerable when the friendly local murderous maniac(s) accidentally end up released into the wild. Needless to say, mayhem ensues.
So, why watch this movie?
Well, if you are a horror movie buff, then you know well enough the question is rather 'why not?'. But what if you aren't?
In that case, first, I'd call it a decent example of an orthodox, strictly formula teen slasher which is easily available by online movie streaming. There are no crude attempts at one-upping the competition with gore, porn (torture or just vanilla), or some other sort of edgelordery. Just a wholesome teen slash you can watch to scratch that cinephile itch and leave with the comforting satisfaction of having expanded the range of genres you have experienced. Second reason is that Poland was never a producer of horror movies; there's a claim to be made the last good one was Dybbuk, and that one was made before the War. Nobody... is therefore a piece of decent genre cinema coming from an unexpected place, and a universal piece to boot. See, unlike many bad attempts at gimmick marketing, there's no heavy-handed shoving of local peculiarities into the story — save for some small details it could have been set anywhere else. For some, it might be a downside, but think of it this way: does it prove the universal potential of the slasher movie formula? You can be the judge of that. And that adds a lot to this movie appeal even — especially — if you're not one to watch slashers otherwise.