Product Details

• Actors: Stephen Moyer, Mia Kirshner, Erik Knudsen, Allie MacDonald, Shawn Ashmore
• Directors: Darren Lynn Bousman
• Format: Color, NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Subtitles: Spanish, English
• Dubbed: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: ANCHOR BAY
• DVD Release Date: October 9, 2012
• Run Time: 97 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B008NNY8RC
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #72,458 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

It's known as the Jersey Devil, the winged beast spawned 400 years ago by Satan himself. Some say this creature still inhabits the dense pine forests of southern New Jersey, where Richard Vineyard (Stephen Moyer, ''True Blood'') takes his family for a rustic weekend camping trip. As the Vineyard family ventures further into the woods in search of the perfect campsite, Richard teeters on the edge of sanity. And it seems that the blood-crazed demon called The Jersey Devil may no longer be just a myth. Mia Kirshner (''The Vampire Diaries,'' ''The L Word''), Erik Knudsen (SAW II, SCREAM 4) and Allie MacDonald (HOUSE AT THE END OF THE STREET) co-star in this twisted chiller from writer/director Darren Lynn Bousman (SAW II-IV) about a new kind of horror that lives -- and kills -- in a place called THE BARRENS.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars The Barrens delivers October 14, 2012

By Jude D. Felton

Format:Blu-ray

Darren Lynn Bousman has proved to be a quite prolific director, so much so that I was unaware that he was even making The Barrens, let alone it getting a Blu-ray release. He first came to our attention with a triple-whammy of Saw films, all of which I thoroughly enjoy, and then came the rather wonderful Repo: The Genetic Opera. After this it goes a bit ass about tit, with 11-11-11 coming out on DVD around about the same time as his Mother's Day reboot hit shiny. 11-11-11 being a misfire for the most part, although not terrible, and the long delayed Mother's Day being a wonderfully brutal home invasion flick. Now, we have The Barrens dropping on Blu-ray/DVD combo pack, as I wait quietly for The Devil's Carnival to get a wide release. For those that have lost count, that's 9 films in 7 years. Told you he was prolific.
So, after all that rambling, I shall now focus on the case at hand; that being The Barrens. Set in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey, but actually filmed in Canada, The Barrens follows the Vineyard family as they head out into the titular Barrens, so that Michael (the father and husband) can scatter the ashes of his deceased father in the area that they used to camp in.
Along the way we get to learn a little about the myth of the Jersey Devil, including a short, sharp and sweet prologue piece, and the usual trials and tribulations of a slightly dysfunctional family. The campsite that they head to is nothing like Michael remembers it to be, instead it is overrun and one of the kids succeeds in scaring the bejeezus out of Michael's son, Danny, with his tale of the Jersey Devil....
As the film progresses we, as the viewer, are asked whether this is a film about a man, Michael, hunted by the Jersey Devil, or a man that is on the brink of a mental breakdown as he suffers from an initially unknown ailment. All will be revealed of course, and the film doesn't always go where you think it will.
I can honestly say that I had no idea what to expect from this film. I thought Mother's Day was excellent, but 11-11-11 had me worried, so where would it fall in Bousman's quality of output? Well, I can safely say that it falls into his better movies. It isn't without fault; you will find yourself questioning many of the characters actions, of that I can assure you, but Stephen Moyer, as Michael, puts in a disturbing performance and helps carry the film along in its many directions.
That is also one of the film's flaws; Bousmann has tried to cram a lot of ideas into what should have been a fairly simple plotline. Bear with him though, as this tale is a good one, and as you might expect from Bousman he isn't afraid to throw the claret and guts about, without losing a sense of dread and atmosphere.
The Barrens is a good looking movie, with the woods of Ontario, Canada, being utilized nicely, along with sharp looking cinematography and decent sound effects. I could have done without some hokey music playing from a radio in one abandoned campsite, and Michael gets hit on the head one too many times, but the direction the plot takes is a quite refreshing one.
This release does come complete with an audio commentary from Bousman and his director of photography, Joseph White, but aside from that and one deleted scene, there is nowt else in the extras. I can live with that though as The Barrens is an above average chiller that kept my attention, even when it wasn't firing on all cylinders.
The Barrens is well worth checking out, especially if you are a fan of Bousman's movies, or are just looking for a creepy and entertaining yarn. At the end of the day, The Barrens is a solid and surprising movie. Read more ›

20 of 25 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Blu-ray Review: "The Barrens" October 9, 2012

By ERSInk . com

Format:Blu-ray

I hate when I put a movie in I was excited to see and it fails to meet my expectations. That's exactly how I felt when the credits rolled on Darren Lynn Bousman's "The Barrens." This is the perfect example of a film whose beginning and end shine but the middle just drags on for too long. After seeing what Bousman did with "Mother's Day," I really expected more from his next outing.

Richard Vineyard (Stephen Moyer) needs a little time off from his busy life and the trappings of modern civilization. He takes his family on a camping trip to the pine forests of New Jersey called the Barrens. His father used to take him there as a boy. Richard wants to honor his father's wishes by scattering his ashes throughout the area. Upon arriving at their campsite, they are bombarded with stories about a creature spawned from Satan named the Jersey Devil. Richard becomes convinced the monster is hunting his family and the other campers down as gutted bodies start turning up.

I have no complaints when it comes to the picture quality of the film. "The Barrens" looks great and the cinematography successfully captures the gloomy and massive expanse of the forest. The creature itself is shot close-up to give us a glimpse of what it looks like but never delivers full body shots until the climax of the film. Obviously a mix of practical and CGI effects were used to capture the actions of the Jersey Devil and it looks realistic no matter what angle it's shot in.

The movie's 5.1 surround sound mix guarantees viewers that all the sudden jerks of the musical score, loud screams, trees rustling, and gunshots are projected all over your home theater. You feel like you're actually in the forest with the Vineyard family.... This helps pull the audience into the film and make them feel like they're living it.

The only bonus material we get for "The Barrens" Blu-ray is audio commentary by Writer / Director Darren Lynn Bousman and Director of Photography Joseph White. A deleted scene offers an alternate ending for the movie. Commentary is provided by Bousman in regards to the deleted scene as well. It would have been nice to get a "Making of" featurette which expanded on the special effects used to bring the creature to life.

I wish I could say something more positive about "The Barrens." The performances by the actors in the film are excellent and the filming techniques are striking. However, a redundant mid-section foils any chance the movie has of rising above mediocrity. Read more ›

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A Fast-Paced, Entertaining Tnriller October 24, 2012

By Cory T. Shaeffer

Format:DVD

Reviews on this site for this film have been mixed, but personally I enjoyed it. There is nothing groundbreaking about a movie about a family being stuck in the woods, but the tension and conflicts between the characters are well executed, the movie has a brisk pace to it, and generally the story is pretty solid.

The performances by te cast are hit-or-miss, with the dependable Mia Kirshner being one of the bright spots. The film nearly gets sidetracked in the middle by focusing too heavily on the family dynamic, and yes, of course the family members occasionally do irrational things, but that's just the case with these types of movies. I mean, let's face it, if you've purchased or rented a movie about the Jersey Devil, you should be prepared to suspend disbelief a little.

If you're looking for an entertaining film that won't make you think too much, especially if it's just a cheap rental, then this makes for a decent return on your investment. It won't make you yell at the screen too much, but the suspense will keep you focused on the screen until the end, and that's what a thriller like this one is designed to do. "The Barrens" accomplishes that. 3.5 stars.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars A very cool idea but like most movies lately the idea is better then the movie. Not awful but also pretty cookie cutter. I say C October 10, 2012

By Tony Heck

Format:DVD

"The deer, his antlers, it wasn't the fence that tore them off...it was the Leed's Devil...Jersey Devil." Richard (Moyer) is a father who can feel his family slipping away. They don't do anything together anymore so he decides to pack them all up and drive them out to the woods where he went as a kid for a weekend camping trip. When they get there the hear of a missing person. Richard begins to wonder if the stories he heard about the Jersey Devil are true. This is a movie for true horror fans only. The movie is pretty slow and not very original but on the other hand it is a very neat idea. The biggest problem with this is that once again the idea of the movie is better then the movie itself. The idea of the Jersey Devil is something that is made for a horror movie, but to me this one was just to slow and not really scary enough to fully expand on the "legend" of the devil. This movie really just boiled down to a family going crazy in the woods, which has been done over and over. Fans of the "Hunters" or even "Wrong Turn" may like this but to me it was just too slow and un-original to fully enjoy. Overall, another movie that had a really good idea but ended up being a cookie cutter horror movie. I give it a C+.