She Came from the Woods (2023)

She Came from the Woods is a gleefully blood-soaked love letter to 80s summer-camp slashers that knows exactly why those movies worked—and how to give the formula a fresh jolt. Set on the last night of camp in 1987, it barrels forward with a fast, confident pace, mixing genuine jumpy tension with a wink of dark humor so the fun never drains out of the fear. The kills are satisfyingly gory, but the movie’s real charm is how inventively it plays with expectations, slipping in clever turns that keep even seasoned horror fans leaning in. If you want solemn, elevated dread, this may not be your campfire story—but if you’re craving a spirited, crowd-pleasing scare ride, it’s an easy recommendation.

She Came from the Woods wants to be a late-’80s summer-camp throwback that mixes slasher chills with cheeky humor, and you can see the love for the genre in the setup and occasional bits of atmosphere. The problem is it often feels like it’s going through the motions: the writing is thin, the characters aren’t very easy to root for, and the movie can’t quite decide whether it wants you to laugh or be scared—so it doesn’t consistently deliver either. The antagonist and payoff don’t land with much punch, which makes the ending feel more like a shrug than a finale. If you’re craving a fresh, genuinely tense horror ride, this likely won’t satisfy, but if you’re happy with a low-stakes, familiar campy riff you can half-watch with friends, you might get some mild fun out of it.