A group of teenagers decide to camp out and go hiking in the woods of Utah and decides to camp out there.
The leader of the pack named Craig (James P. Hayden) tells the rest of the hikers some safety tips of never going in the woods alone and to always stick together.
But suddenly they realise that they are stalked by a vicious blood thirsty killer that stores his dead bodies in bags and in his shack as he tries to kill all of them as well as others residing there.

This film can almost guarantee you to be put to sleep if you are having sleepless nights. Just rent this and watch it as you'll see what I mean. However, the camera work does show some nice scenery in the forest and the mountains around Utah.
During the beginning there's a girl mildly bloodied while running away near the wooded area as there's a river too but done in a totally trashy way. We've seen stuff like this all before folks.
Next up is our main characters going on a hike to their camping destination with Craig being the head of their group of friends. Lots of trashy discussions and writing which was totally uninspired for a start of a horror flick. I knew I was in for a real bad flick like mentioned above.
Meanwhile there's a tourist couple trying to get to the top of the mountain to take a picture of a train going by as the sound of the train sounded ripped from an audio od a children's story it sounded that bad and hokey. Plus there's a nagging wife trying to catch up to her husband in which all of this sounded incredibly annoying that I hoped the killer will do them in.
At the police station while there's reports on missing people looked way too planned out and unnatural as well as campy but in a real bad and unfunny way.
Then we have a campfire tale by Peter which doesn't look convincingly at all and it looks extremely hokey.
In other parts of the forest there's two newlywed hippie couples spending their honeymoon as their interactions looked phony to watch as well as the wife being a little nervous as to what's out there which is supposed to leave a chill down your spine. This misses by a longshot big time. However a nice suspenseful shot on their camp mobile flipping over and catching on fire.
The next day there's a scene by a painter who gets slayed and it sounds like she is having an orgy than sounding like she's being hacked to death. Yet it looks disturbing when she is having a peaceful day and her infant is with her.
However, there is a good scene and camera shot on a fisherman at a creek when a bear trap is slams into his face and then the Maniac moves in for the kill while Peter himself is running for his life before he gets killed which is one of the only scene's worth watching.
We have Craig goofing around and tying Joanie in her sleeping bag and tying her to a tree which should look well done but its as if these characters were forced to do this.
We do have a good killing scene involving her inside the shack of the Maniac looking menacing so a good point on the filmmakers work with that scene.
One of the survivors whom is Peter goes tot he police headquarters to tell them what had happened and realises one of his surviving friends is still out there in which he tries to escape the area when told not to in order to try and find her. I mean what idiot would do that. Plus the police force whom is all set with their gear while going to the woods to snuff this killer out
There is also a good revenge scene at the end involving Peter and Ingrid against the Maniac but that's all folks. Oh there's a memorable scene with the infant that was mentioned in the story finds the killers axe and taps it on the ground. I was wondering if this leaves a clue that she will grow up to being a killer herself for a sequel that was thankfully never made.
Bottom line is when you see the box you probably think "Oh boy a cheezy looking but interesting looking film I gotta check it out" but surprise! A boring weak plotted film. This film was made for no good reason which is really sad! Instead of titling it "Don't Go in the Woods" which was a lame title anyways, they should've called it "Don't Watch this Lame Film" which suits the film itself! It's also a total ripoff to Just Before Dawn and easily forgettable too.

The acting is terrible and full of virtual unknowns as they show no characterisation to their roles and just read their lines. If you have ever seen a foregin film overdubbed in english it is that terrible. I will do my best to try and review the cast here ..... Jack McClelland (Peter) portrays a sarcastic goofball but doesn't show off any characteristics like you'd hope to. Also when he is freaking out by running and scared his energy is very off. During the end of his performance you do see him running in for the kill at full thrust which was his best effort but of course that is saying very little.
Mary Gail Artz (Ingrid) had the right appeal as someone whom is wise and courageous as our leading lady. Yet her performance is very wooden. She is a bit better than the rest of the cast but not by much at all. Had the right healthy girl next door looks to be a virgin type in a slasher flick.
James P. Hayden (Craig) portrays the head of his group of friends in which he had the right masculine looks to be this type but was another line reader and not getting into his role well at all. This is such a shame too as you'd think that someone like him would pull it off.
Angie Brown (Joanie) seemed to have an innocence looks but can't get into character like the rest. Yet she shows off some okay energy near the end of her performance while freaking out while being pitted against the onscreen killer.
Ken Carter (Sheriff) had the burly looks and right for his supporting role as the head of the law but just didn't cut it at all when he shows some action by his speaking to others. He was a known DJ for many radio stations in which he was better off doing than an acting career.
David Barth (Deputy Benson) was the best in the cast as he had the right young looks for this role and seemed to pull his weight when speaking his lines or doing something in each scene. Yet he is mediocre in his performance. But better than the whole cast that did a poor performance.

The graphic slayings are the main plot of this film.
A mother is brutally slayed while painting a picture and it leads a violent bloodshed
A guy's face is caught in a bear trap
A teen is bloodied while being slayed
A guy in a wheelchair has his head decapitated
Bodies in bags .
A hiker is stabbed by a sharp stick
A bloodied boy is hung from a tree
A teen is bloodily stabbed by a large knife
The killer is bloodily stabbed a bunch of times

H. Kingsley Thurher's shows some decent deep and icy synthesizer music especially for the opening credits as it reminds me with similarities in other low budget horror flicks during this time period. Yet there's some trashy sounds and whooping scene's as this was annoying. Plus there's cheesy synthesizer sounds which is almost sounded like wolves howling in a bad way. The music was overly played. But again this is common for most low budget horror flicks since it's on their tight budget as to what they can afford to pay the person doing the time length on everything.