Within the Pines

source: tv.lk21

Synopsis:

Within the Pines (2026) is director Paul Evans Thomas’ feature debut film, adapted from his short film, Foley Man. The story follows Sam, a foley artist — someone who creates sound effects for films. He goes to a remote cabin in the middle of a pine forest for work, but starts getting disturbed by strange sounds he hears and records. Over time, the line between the sounds he creates for his job and the mysterious sounds from the forest becomes blurred. This film has minimal dialogue. The focus is on sound design and atmosphere. We’re taken along with Sam as he slowly becomes paranoid: is someone watching him among the trees, or is it all just in his head? This is a slow-burn horror/psychological film that relies more on sound than on jump scares.

This film stars: Brendan Cooney, Barrie Cotton, Cheryl Douglas and more.

In my opinion:

Okay, from the synopsis I got from one source on the internet, this film will be assumed to be a psychological horror film. You know, I was actually in a good mood to watch a thriller or horror film — I wanted to get my adrenaline pumping. I chose this film and... hahaha. Marking 20 years of Umbrella Entertainment, this company instead delivered a film that’s too simple and... sorry... boring. I won’t hesitate — I’ll just spoil it entirely. It tells the story of Sam Evans. I don’t know what his profession is, but it seems like he’s part of a multimedia crew. From the start, the story is built very slowly, and even Sam’s profile feels very vague. What I can guess is that he’s in the process of divorcing his wife, Sarah.

Okay, my guess is that there’s a kidnapping case by 2 people and the victim is being held in an RV compartment in the middle of the pine forest. Somehow, it seems like Sam knows about this case and tries to track down the victim. Armed only with a mic and a sound recorder, Sam searches through the pine forest. As a result, Sam finds him and manages to incapacitate Ed, one of the criminals, and rescue the victim. Earlier, one of Ed’s accomplices, whose name isn’t mentioned, kidnapped the victim from her car by pretending to be a police officer. THAT’S IT.

Sam combs the pine forest, finds the holding location, fights the bad guy, and saves the victim. Maybe you’d imagine Sam’s thrilling adventure in the pine forest — falling into a ravine and surviving, or encountering wild beasts (actually, he does meet a wild dog and kills it). Forget it! There’s barely any dialogue, almost none. I was excited to watch a tense film and I get this, haha.

Not many comments. Although the visuals are good, the film’s story is too simple, very simple, and far from tense. Well, at least this film becomes one of Umbrella Entertainment’s milestones in its journey. Mmmm... okay.

For me this one is 5/10.