Lucky McKee's long-awaited (at least by me) new film is perhaps slightly disappointing when compared to his debut "May" and the exquisite Masters of Horror episode "Sick Girl", but it's still a spooky supernatural chiller and easily one of the most stylish genre-efforts released during the last five years. Moreover, "The Woods" is a film that brings tons of homage to older horror classics, like Dario Argento's "Suspiria" just to name one, and that's an aspect the more experienced cinema lovers will certainly appreciate. Following the umpteenth painful collision with her mother, Heather is reluctantly sent to a boarding school for girls that lies isolated within a large forest. Her fellow students don't exactly welcome her, the teachers all behave strangely and pretty soon Heather even begins to hear "voices" speaking to her from within the woods. Who knows, maybe the scary tales about an ancient coven of witches living between the trees are true...and they've been waiting for Heather to join them! Like in "May", Lucky McKee tries to accomplish a whole lot more than just serving some gory images and/or disturbing themes. Our gifted director puts a lot of effort in the character drawings, resulting in a likable female protagonist and a long list of interesting supportive players. Among them Bruce Campbell as Heather's silent but understanding father and Patricia Clarkson as the strict school principal Mrs. Traverse. The story of "The Woods" ingeniously takes place in 1965 and makes fabulous use of the contemporary religious habits and conceptions and... MUSIC! The film's absolute best sequence involves a series of moments illustrating the life inside the boarding school's walls, guided by the atmospheric song "You Don't Own Me"; sung by Lesley Gore. Although constantly ominous and mysterious, I was hoping for "The Woods" to contain a little more genuine frights. Also, it doesn't always make sense and particularly the last half hour is confusing. I read that "The Woods" flopped in the States, mainly due to the audiences wrongful expectations. I can safely recommend it to admirers of story & atmosphere driven horror films.