Nobody Sleeps in the Woods Tonight, tries to do something unwonted at every step. The supernatural genre generally suffers from many stereotypes, be that the jump scares or the fundamental manner in which the narrative unravels itself.
This Polish horror film, directed by Bartosz M. Kowalski, knows the cliches that it is dealing with. It tries to be original and get a reflex trigger by playing around with those set patterns. So without wasting a moment, let’s enter the woods and see whether it leaves us sleepless or not!
‘Nobody Sleeps in the Woods Tonight’ Plot Summary
The film opens with a scene of a woman washing a piece of cloth drained in what seems like blood. A postman knocks on the door but hears a rustling noise coming from a nearby crypt. He opens the cover and sees a blurry image of somebody moving inside. He lends a hand only to be dragged down inside the undercroft.
The film moves thirty years ahead where a bunch of individuals has come for a camp named Adrenaline. This is a unique camp where people, especially young adults, are sent to get rid of their technology addiction. A rehab for those who are all the time on their mobile, surfing over the internet, or playing games.
But not all of them are suffering from compulsive use of the internet. Some have come to heal their wounds and maybe stay detached and aloof from the world for a little while. Zosia is one of them. She had lost her family in a car accident and had come down to the camp to evaluate life and deal with her loss. Julek, on the other hand, has a lot of regrets as he was going to compete in a gaming competition, which he believed he could win. But before he could participate, his parents sent him to the camp. Both of them, together with three other members (Daniel, Bartek, and Aniela), follow their group leader IZA into the woods.
A Predator lurks in the Shadows
The group sets their camp in the middle of the woods. Daniel steps out of his tent once everyone is asleep. He was already bewitched by Aniela and her aura. They had exchanged stares and subtle compliments earlier. The starry night beside the river creates a pitch-perfect moment where the couple ends up making out. But the night doesn’t stay as surreal as it had promised to be.
A gigantic man with boils-like bumps protruding from all over his body comes out from nowhere and attacks Danil most brutally.
The group finds out the following day that Daniel is missing but still does not entertain the possibility of him being killed. Iza divides the group into two and goes on a manhunt with Zosia and Julek. They find a house amidst the thick canopy of trees. They enter the house to find a basement that is filled with human carcasses. Before they could apprehend the danger that they were in, the giant man returned. He kills Iza, but somehow Julek and Zosia are able to escape.
Were the Giants humans or monsters?
Zosia and Juleck, terrified by their close encounter, stumble upon a cabin, where they find an old man. He is the postman who was attacked 30 years earlier. He lost his legs in the scrimmage but had somehow managed to escape.
He tells them that there were not one but two giants. They were brothers and once were normal kids. A meteor had struck that part of land, and the kids had brought the piece of stone back home. The stone started showing some anomaly, and a black liquid started coming out of it. The kids were turned into vicious scavengers who were willing to eat anything that came their way. Their mother fed them with animals but once stumbled upon them while pulling an animal’s body and died. The kids who had grown up till then to become deathly behemoths. They escaped the underground cabin and started attacking the kids.
‘Nobody Sleeps in the Woods Tonight’ Ending Explained – Does Zosia kill them in the end?
Everybody dies except Zosia. She finds a Police officer and finally thinks that her nightmare will be over. But he, too, is killed by the giants, leaving her alone. She had earlier stabbed one brother in his sleep in the house itself, and when the Police officer dies, she takes control of the wheels and runs it over the other brother.
We think that the monstrosity has ended, but both the giants come back from the dead, signifying that the meteor did not only make them man-eaters but also made them immortal.
With the brother surviving, the massacre is sure to be continued in the second installment.
In Conclusion
Nobody Sleeps in the Woods Tonight, falls flat at places, and while some plot points may not be so convincing to keep you captivated, the makers indeed attempt to be authentic in their approach.
Nobody Sleeps in the Woods Tonight is a 2020 Polish Horror Thriller film directed by Bartosz M. Kowalski. It is streaming on Netflix.
