Couple in the Woods Review Dominic Luongo – Oliver Sara Manzella – Meg Golden Groves – The Occultist “Tim” Rick Matthews – Phil Brian Burch – Park Ranger Clayton Williams – Haunted Humphrey (check out the rest of the cast here ) Directed by Dominic Luongo Screenplay by Dominic Luongo and Sara Manzella Produced by Doom Lounge Productions Rated TV-MA Runtime – 65 minutes Couple in the Woods is available to watch for free on Tubi. Watch it here Image Credit: Doom Lounge Productions Couple in the Woods , a nifty supernatural/horror-comedy currently available to watch for free via Tubi (check out the movie here ), stars Dominic Luongo (he also directed and co-wrote the movie) and Sara Manzella (she is the movie’s other writer) as Oliver and Meg, two sort of supernatural/occult investigators traipsing through the woods looking for a cabin that somehow figures into the heinous murders of the serial killer known as The Occultist. The Occultist, also known as Tim (Golden Groves), is a bald guy that we see at the very beginning of the movie, chasing a guy named Phil (Rick Mathews) because Phil has an animal skull that Tim desperately wants.
Tim eventually catches up to Phil and murders him, taking the animal skull. While all of that is happening, Oliver and Meg are arriving in the very same woods to begin their investigation. While they’re both looking for the same thing, it appears that Oliver is a bit more measured about how to look for the cabin and what to do about The Occultist in general, while Meg is more of a free spirit about the whole thing.
Oliver wants to be careful about where they look and where they go in the woods, while Meg seems to be all about going wherever her spirit takes her and they will deal with whatever they come across as they come across it while going full blast. It’s an interesting and very funny dynamic, with Oliver playing a sort of straight man to Meg’s comedian. Sort of.
So, some stuff happens, Oliver and Meg find the cabin they’re looking for, Oliver picks the lock to get in, and they go inside to check out what’s inside the cabin. The cabin is pretty bare bones, but they do find a weird parchment paper thing inside. As Oliver and Meg investigate, a weird fog arrives, a giant ghost spirit thing appears, and then The Occultist appears.
There’s a flash, and Oliver and Meg suddenly find themselves back in the woods, covered in dirt and grime and whatnot. What the heck just happened? After some arguing about what they think happened, Oliver and Meg head back to the cabin to try to regroup and call for help. While all of that is going on, we find out that The Occultist has stolen Oliver and Meg’s luggage and taken their car.
It also appears that The Occultist is talking to, or maybe even taking orders from, a plastic pumpkin jack-o-lantern thing that talks. And while all of that is going on, there’s a park ranger (Brian Burch) that Oliver tries to call for help. Will the park ranger be of any, actual help? I don’t want to sat any more about the plot as Couple in the Woods does contain several surprises when it comes to explaining what the hell is actually going on.
I know that the movie didn’t play out like I thought it would. I was also surprised by how much the movie leaned on comedy as opposed to scares. I initially thought that the movie would get scarier and more horror centric as it went on, especially since a serial killer is the movie’s main villain.
The movie doesn’t, though. Couple in the Woods is far more interested in allowing the audience to marvel at the funny back and forth between stars Luongo and Manzella. They have terrific chemistry and it’s incredibly enjoyable to watch them interact with one another while also trying to figure out what’s going on.
Now, will some people become annoyed by the movie’s comedy? It’s possible. I can see people complaining that the movie doesn’t take its supernatural or horror elements more seriously and that some of its occult moments come off as nonsense. The movie never really explains what any of the occult elements mean or how they work, both when it comes to The Occultist and when it comes to Meg (Meg burns incense and uses crystals and rocks while investigating the woods and the cabin).
There’s a major plot moment involving the parchment paper getting ripped in half, and that parchment defacing informs how Oliver and Meg get through the rest of the movie. Does any of it make any sense? None of it will make sense outside of the movie, but it all does make its own kind of sense. As long as you buy what’s happening, as it’s happening, you will end up likely loving Couple in the Woods .
Another great thing about Couple in the Woods is that it manages to tell its story in around 65 minutes. It doesn’t waste a second and feels full and complete despite being short. It’s always a treat when you can experience a movie that gets in and out quickly.
The movie also has a phenomenal score by Karl Casey that very much sounds and feels like a modern John Carpenter score. Just amazing stuff. Dominic Luongo does a great job as Oliver.
He’s a dedicated investigator, but he’s also incredibly cautious and wants to be as careful as possible, which provides a major contrast with Manzella’s Meg. As a result, Oliver is quite often the hapless straight man to Meg’s wacky (in context) investigator. When he isn’t acting as the straight man to Meg’s wackiness, Oliver is called upon to do big physical comedy sequences that are hilarious and ridiculous.
And when you realize that Luongo did all of this while also directing and a million other jobs making the movie, his performance is even more impressive. Sara Manzella is fantastic as Meg, the super dedicated investigator that just wants to go full speed all of the time. Is that approach always the wisest thing to do? Not really, but you can appreciate her enthusiasm (it’s infectious).
Manzella also makes you sort of believe in the various occult tools that she uses throughout the movie. I mean, she keeps using them again and again. They have to do something, right? Just like Luongo, when you realize that Manzella also co-wrote the movie and did a million other jobs, you start to appreciate what she does even more.
Just terrific stuff. Golden Groves does a nice job as the killer, The Occultist Tim. Groves has to both scare the audience (he is the movie’s killer, after all) and make it laugh, and he succeeds doing both throughout.
He doesn’t really “look” the part, as Tim looks like some random guy off the street. He doesn’t have a special mask or wear an elaborate costume or anything like that. How the heck do you make that scary? Groves figures out how to do it.
Groves also makes you believe that Tim is taking orders and interacting with a haunted jack-o-lantern. That’s insanely difficult to pull off. Rick Matthews does a fine job as Phil, a guy you don’t know how to take because you don’t know what the heck is going on with him.
Is he alive? Is he dead? Is he a ghost? Is something else going on with him? And what’s the deal with the animal skull he’s carrying around at the beginning of the movie? Phil never seems to know himself what the heck is going on, and that makes Phil fun to watch. Brian Burch is quite funny as the Park Ranger, mostly because you’re not quite sure what the heck he’s doing in the movie at all. When you first see him you’d swear he’s acting in a completely different movie.
And who the hell is he talking to through his phone? Is he actually talking to a person, or is he doing some sort of running commentary/ongoing diary that’s for posterity? I don’t know if I’m totally satisfied with how his story plays out, but it’s still a hoot to experience. Will we get some sort of wacked out sequel featuring the Park Ranger? And then there’s Clayton Williams as Haunted Humphrey, an internet influencer. Williams is nothing short of brilliant as Humphrey because he absolutely nails the whole YouTube influencer/ridiculous grifter thing.
You’d swear to God that you’ve seen Haunted Humphrey at some point while watching random stuff on the internets. And the bits where he’s constantly trying to sell some product that may or may not have anything to do with what’s appearing on his internets show? Funniest and truest thing in the movie. Couple in the Woods is a wonderful indie supernatural/horror-comedy.
It’s funny, it’s goofy, it’s heartfelt, and an obvious labor of love for everyone involved. It’s definitely worth checking out. And, heck, it’s only 65 minutes.
You can find the time to watch a 65 minute movie. See Couple in the Woods . See it, see it, see it.
Couple in the Woods is currently available to watch for free on Tubi (check it out here ). Image Credit: Doom Lounge Productions So what do we have here? Dead bodies : Maybe 4. It’s actually hard to tell.
Explosions : None. Nudity? : Almost. Doobage : A foot chase through the woods.
A car in the woods. Branch throwing. Investigating.
Cell phone hooey. Another foot chase through the woods. A giant key weapon.
Off screen murder. Lock picking. Grave digging.
An old parchment or something. Parchment ripping. A ghostly fog.
Weird ghostly mumbling. Attempted door opening. Sand dropping.
Cell phone pinging. Teeth brushing. Showering.
Multiple sudden nosebleeds. Luggage stealing. Farting.
Dead body under a tarp. A freak out. Incense burning.
Ghost stuff. Attempted door barricading. A table falls over.
Ghost stalking? More incense burning. Arm raising. Dead body weirdness.
Shovel to the face. More nosebleeds. Parchment hooey.
A cat. Nose picking. Shovel to the head.
A full on beating. Animal skull hooey. Realm breaking.
Sand to the face. More cell phone hooey. Using a crystal as a sort of walkie talkie.
Mossy rock throwing. Shin hitting. A final showdown of sorts.
Barfing. Face punching. Beer bottle to the head.
Wall breaking. Phone throwing. Kim Richards? None.
Gratuitous : Guy running through the woods while holding an animal skull. A jack-o-lantern that talks for some reason. A “No Trespassing” sign.
A red tinted flashback. Talk of leap years. Special crystals.
Occult bullstuff. A little mirror on a metal stick. Phone calls that just don’t work out.
A papier Mache skull. Multiple makeshift weapons. A gummy worm.
An argument about the word “stuff.” An evil candle. Best lines : “Gotcha!” “What’s going on down there?” “Hey, go play with your rocks.
” “You stepped into the wrong neck of the woods today.” “Do you know how many people I’ve killed? That trick get real old.” “For the last time, I’m not scared.
” “This place has...
character.” “Well, that was a waste of everyone’s time.” “Meg, seriously, what’s the plan here?” “What the hell just happened?” “You’re gonna shower in the haunted cabin?” “Sorry, why did you scream?” “Did you see anyone on the way over here?” “Yeah, I think he might be dead.
” “Do dead people breathe?” “I am not prepared!” “Ashley, have you ever realized how repetitive our lives are?” “Dead guy! Shush!” “Olive! Snarky witch lady! Come check this out!” “Let’s regroup because there’s a lot of weird stuff happening. Yeah. Stuff.
” “Well, things to do! Have fun being dead!” “Don’t eat my ferns! They give you diarrhea!” “Okay, this place really creeps me out.” “What is it with these fools and these damn sticks?” “I have something to tell you!” “Is getting us killed in a double homicide the only way I’m going to get you to notice me?” “What do you see? He’s seductively touching the floor?” “Twist, do not let him complete the ritual!” “Now is not the time to start challenging yourself.” “Shouldn’t something be happening?” “Really? After all that, you’re going to diss the crystals?” 9.
0 The final score: review Amazing The 411 Couple in the Woods , directed by, co-written by, and starring Dominic Luongo alongside fellow co-writer Sara Manzella, is a nifty and wonderful indie supernatural/horror-comedy. It’s funny, it’s goofy, it’s heartfelt, and an obvious labor of love for everyone involved. It’s definitely worth checking out.
And, heck, it’s only 65 minutes. You can find the time to watch a 65 minute movie. See Couple in the Woods .
See it, see it, see it. Couple in the Woods is currently available to watch for free on Tubi (check it out here ). legend 0 - 0.
9 Torture 1 - 1.9 Extremely Horrendous 2 - 2.9 Very Bad 3 - 3.
9 Bad 4 - 4.9 Poor 5 - 5.9 Not So Good 6 - 6.
9 Average 7 - 7.9 Good 8 - 8.9 Very Good 9 - 9.
9 Amazing 10 Virtually Perfect.
