College youths take a wrong turn in the sticks of northwest PA
A woman from California traveling through the back roads of Pennsylvania (Daryl Hannah) picks up a traumatized female, who was part of a student archeological team from Boston. The youths were interested in the local Indian burial grounds whereupon they discover some of the remains are quite recent. What’s going on?
Released in 2009, “The Devil’s Ground”, aka “The Cycle,” is a backwoods slasher in the “Wrong Turn” mold with some nods to the “Friday the 13th” flicks, i.e. a hulking masked assailant in the woods with a machete.
Without giving away vital revelations in the last act, the story comes down to a toxic waste, bitter yokels and some mysterious crows. The Indian burial ground functions simply to attract the out-of-state college students and isn't related to the other stuff, unless you view the grounds as sacred land that curses anyone who desecrates it. Let's be generous to writer/director Micheal Bafaro and go with that.
The striking Lee Tomaschefski stands out on the female front as Lisa, although she doesn’t do much for me personally. Meanwhile Maria Gruending is worth a mention as Tammy and I like protagonist Leah Gibson’s doe-eyed look.
The filmmaking is professional so this is worth checking out for those who appreciate backwaters horror, particularly of the slasher variety. Despite some eye-rolling script flaws, like the map contrivance and the youths constantly referring to the killer as “the monster,” I’d watch this over “Wrong Turn.” But it’s not as entertaining as any of the “Friday the 13th” movies. For a similar Canadian flick that’s more effective, see "Butchers" (2020).
The flick runs 1 hour, 28 minutes. It’s a Canadian/Czech production, but I can’t find specific info on filming locations; the credits list the British Columbia Film Commission, so I’m assuming that’s where it was shot (thankfully they don’t show the Cascades or Rockies in the background since the story is set in northwestern Pennsylvania).
GRADE: C+
