I applaud writer/director Darren Lynn Bousman’s attempts to keep the spirit of low-budget horror alive, scripting stories that prey on fears of the apocalyptic unknown and the mentally unstable. However, with efforts such as “11-11-11” and a remake of “Mother’s Day,” the helmer’s ambitions are far more interesting to dissect than his movies. Add “The Barrens” to the pile of promising failures, with the creator isolating the drive to seek and destroy the legendary Jersey Devil, which promises to be an enticing feature of creepy woodsy remoteness, populated with characters touched by madness. Bousman doesn’t have the vision to hoist the horror up high, settling on a mundane camping thriller only sporadically enlivened by mysterious violence. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com
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