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Woman in the Maze Review
Image Credit: Applied Art Pictures
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Meredith VanCuyk– Gabbi Reynolds
Joey Heyworth– Owen Bannister
Missy Jane– Sheriff Jessica Cooper
Sean Dillingham– Mitch Landstone
George Nelson– Angus Hanna
Brenda Jean Foley– Judy Hanna
(check out the rest of the cast here)
Directed by Mitesh Kumar Patel
Screenplay by Matt Midgette and Scott Gore, based on a story by Mitesh Kumar Patel and Scott Gore, with additional writing by Hannah V. Nance and Rob Smat
Distributed by Applied Art Pictures
Not Rated
Runtime– 100 minutes
Woman in the Maze will be released in select theaters on October 6th, 2023, and then hit digital on October 12th, 2023.
Woman in the Maze, directed by Mitesh Kumar Patel, is a weird, atmospheric new “haunted house” horror flick featuring both a brilliant performance by star Meredith VanCuyk and a beautifully creepy house that no one in their right mind would ever consider staying in. While the movie does go on a bit too long (for me, haunted house movies play better when they’re quickly paced), director Patel piles on the atmosphere, making the goings on more unsettling as the movie progresses. Being creeped out is always a plus when dealing with a haunted house movie, at least that’s my experience.
VanCuyk plays Gabbi Reynolds, an ambitious young woman who is sent to Arizona to check out land in and around the ghost town of Jerome (Reynolds works for some sort of real estate company). Reynolds rents a mansion in Jerome that is notorious to the locals for being haunted, but since haunted houses and whatnot are bullshit Reynolds isn’t intimidated by the house’s reputation. Reynolds is only going to be in town for a few days and the mansion is cheap to rent so staying there makes all kinds of sense. As soon as she steps foot in the house, though, strange things start to happen, things she can’t explain. But, again, the place is cheap, she isn’t going to be around long, so even if something seems wrong or weird or whatever Reynolds figures she will just tough it out. Her boss really wants the inside information on the area and if she can get the information her boss wants Reynolds knows that she will move up in the company.
So after experiencing a weird moment involving the house’s basement (Reynolds walks down into it, the light doesn’t come on, and in that moment she says that she isn’t going down there again), an episode involving the bathroom mirror while brushing her teeth before bed, and then a mysterious moment involving a vase of dead flowers (where the hell did they come from?), Reynolds heads into the nearby town that isn’t a ghost town to meet up with a guy named Owen Bannister (Joey Heyworth). Bannister is her local contact who is supposed to tell her everything she needs to know about the land her boss is interested in while also showing her around. Reynolds and Bannister hit it off immediately, they have tremendous chemistry together, but Reynolds isn’t interested in a relationship with anyone at the moment. Reynolds is in town for business. Bannister understands Reynolds’ position but at the same time doesn’t exactly stop trying to hit on her.
So Reynolds hangs out with Bannister, learns more about the adjacent town to Jerome (there’s an alleged haunted hotel in the town, too, which makes the area a hub for weird beard supernatural activity), and then heads back to the mansion to experience more bizarre stuff (the dead flowers are no longer dead and there’s a gold kaleidoscope that may be haunted). Reynolds then goes back to town to walk around and get information from the locals. During this excursion she learns about an alleged ghost filled movie theater and then is accosted in a bar by a belligerent psychic woman who then disappears. What the heck is going on here?
So Reynolds goes back to the mansion for the night, walks up the longest set of stairs in the history of the world, and then starts hearing chanting in the middle of the night. Reynolds gets out of bed and looks for the source of the chanting, going into the basement (something she said she wouldn’t do) and finding a group of women in red hoods. It’s at this point that Reynolds is confronted by a woman with a disfigured face and told to leave. Reynolds then wakes up. Was all of that a dream?
The next day Reynolds meets with Bannister again and tells him about her dream. Bannister is unable to provide much insight into her dream, so Reynolds tries to get back to business and talk to Bannister about the town and her career. Reynolds and Bannister once again show that they have tremendous couple’s chemistry, but Reynolds doesn’t want to get involved. Later that night, Bannister shows up at the mansion, telling Reynolds that he was worried about her. Why is he worried about her? Does he know something about the mansion that he isn’t willing to divulge? Just what the heck is going on here?
And that’s the vibe that Woman in the Maze generates for the rest of its runtime. Reynolds keeps experiencing weird as hell things while in the mansion, she can’t explain any of them, and it sure as hell looks like the house is trying to hurt Reynolds (the house does seem to attack her, damaging her arm and screwing up her ankle at various points). But is that what’s really happening? Are all of these weird goings on all in Reynolds’ head, or is the house actually haunted and evil and openly hostile to anyone who stays in it? Reynolds, and the audience, do find out what’s really going on as well as the true history of the mansion, and for the most part it is a satisfying explanation. I mean, it’s all very ridiculous, yes, but because we do see it all happen, we can’t just say “Eh, that’s all nonsense.” It is happening in the movie, Reynolds is experiencing what she is experiencing, and it’s all very weird and unsettling.
Very, very, weird and unsettling.
The mansion, which I assume is a mix of an actual house and specifically built sets, gives off a creepy vibe before anything actually creepy happens. There’s just something about it that gives off a “you really shouldn’t be here” message that makes you wonder why anyone would agree to stay there for any reason. Even if you’re there to research the house or, like Reynolds, the adjacent town, go find somewhere else to stay. Who gives a crap if it’s cheap to stay in? Even if haunted houses and whatnot are complete bullshit, why tempt fate? The fact that the movie takes place in Jerome, Arizona, which is a real ghost town, isn’t as effective as the movie wants it to be, mostly because it comes off like a detail that’s made up for no real reason. It isn’t. Jerome, Arizona is a real place, but if you don’t know that going in, researching it later on isn’t going to make the movie seem creepier than it already is. I mean, it’s a cool detail, sure, but it doesn’t really matter. Director Patel could have just made up a town name and a town history and it would have been just as effective.
The movie features some truly wild CGI special effects involving the mansion “acting up” that, in a different kind of movie, wouldn’t have no doubt produced laughs. The “suddenly alive house” comes out of nowhere and is so goddamn bizarre that it adds to the overall atmosphere. Anything can happen in the house. Even when you think you have it figured out the mansion does something no one could have anticipated. That’s messed up.
The movie’s opening titles sequence and the song that plays over it gives the audience the impression that what they’re about to see is going to be some sort of uplifting, life affirming movie. The woman in the Corvette s clearly loving life and working hard to be happy. You don’t rent a Corvette if you’re not happy. But when she gets to the mansion that’s when things change. The uplifting music stops. The dread sets in. You know something is going to happen. You know that you’re watching a horror movie of some sort. But what? What the heck is going to happen to this young woman in this mansion? It’s a great way to set up the eventual goings on.
Meredith VanCuyk is terrific as Gabbi Reynolds. She’s smart and resourceful and ambitious. She’s in town to do a job and, hopefully, get a promotion of some sort if it all works out. You can’t help but like her and want her to succeed, and that feeling only increases as VanCuyk’s Reynolds starts to experience super weird thing after super weird thing. Is what she experiencing really a haunted mansion or is it all in her head? Are her nightmares encroaching on her reality in some way? Or is it really all just the mansion? Yes, Reynolds screams and freaks out on occasion, but I’d suspect that anyone would do the same thing if they experienced what she experienced. Reynolds does get herself together, though, and try to figure out what the heck is going on. There’s a great moment where Reynolds decides to fight back and don a leather coat (she spends a good deal of the movie in her sleeping attire as the bulk of the nasty stuff she goes through happens at night). It’s about as close to “Oh, yeah!” moment the movie has. Woman in the Maze appears to be one of VanCuyk’s first major starring roles, and based on her performance I wouldn’t be surprised if she starts popping up in more movies. She clearly has “it.”
Joey Heyworth does a nice job as Owen Bannister, the local contact for Reynolds’ inquiries. Bannister is always kind of goofy but Heyworth isn’t playing him for laughs. Bannister is just a naturally goofy person. There are some moments where Bannister comes off as kind of creepy, at least at first, but it’s usually just a misunderstanding of some sort (like when he shows up at the mansion because he claims that he’s worried about Reynolds. You’re not sure if he’s being serious or if there’s something else going on. What if Bannister is a serial killer? Why couldn’t that happen in this setting? It doesn’t, but there’s a moment where you think it could happen). Heyworth, just like VanCuyk, is immediately likeable, so you’re always rooting for him.
The movie’s only other major performance belongs to Missy Jane, who plays the town’s sheriff Jessica Cooper. Sheriff Cooper figures into the movie’s ending in a major way, and Jane does a good job with what she’s given to do. I’m actually kind of surprised that Jane isn’t in the movie from the beginning. You would think that the local authorities would be very aware of anyone who shows up in the mansion. It is a small town. It doesn’t happen, though. Still, Jane does a good job with what her character has to do. Cortney Davis also does a decent job as Tabitha, Reynolds’ best friend (we only see Tabitha via video phone conversations she has with Reynolds).
I enjoyed Woman in the Maze quite a bit. It features some truly weird and unsettling atmosphere and a star making performance from Meredith VanCuyk. If you’re a horror movie van, a haunted house movie fan, or just in the mood for a worthwhile movie watching experience, you should absolutely give Woman in the Maze a shot.
See Woman in the Maze. See it, see it, see it. Woman in the Maze is set to hit select theaters October 6th, 2023, and is then set to debut on digital on October 12th, 2023.
So what do we have here?
Dead bodies: Maybe 3.
Explosions: None.
Nudity?: None.
Doobage: A “flying somewhere” montage, a big house, a bookshelf moves by itself, off screen grocery shopping, a weird sound, basement hooey, creepy bathroom mirror hooey, dead flowers, a guy with a cowboy hat, multiple stories about various allegedly haunted places in the area, a land tour, attempted date, undead flowers, a psychic attack, weird stairs, mysterious chanting at night, more basement hooey, a woman with a disfigured face, dream hooey, attempted kiss, a haunted kaleidoscope, lesbianism, crying, people turning to dust or something, dangerous stairs, flashlight hooey, multiple dried out bodies, a flashback, off screen sex, arm wrapping, bathtub hooey, attempted window breaking, two truck hooey, a strange doll, blood in the furnace, arm cutting, a pulsing house, a shaking house, leather jacket hooey, blood on the bed, a very mad front door, a serious fall, phone hooey, a special ring, a bunch of mirrors, hand cutting, more blood in the furnace, hammer attack, gut stabbing, shoulder stabbing, bullet to the chest, a weird fight, glass vase to the head, and an unsettling, bonkers as hell ending.
Kim Richards? None.
Gratuitous: Someone searching for a vacation online, a plane ride, baggage claim hooey, a woman driving a Corvette on a winding road while savoring the abundant sunlight, a big house, a woman talking on her phone, a well-stocked pantry, a riddle, a gigantic refrigerator, The Shining on the TV, teeth brushing, cactus talk, use of the word “ma’am,” high heeled shoes, a haunted kaleidoscope, some strange stairs, multiple women in red hoods chanting for some reason, note taking, ducks, lesbianism, flashlight hooey, a strange doll, blood in the furnace, sudden screaming, leather coat hooey, a weird fight, an unsettling, bonkers as hell ending, and Arizona.
Best lines: “What was that? What was that?,” “There’s no way I’m going down there,” “You didn’t last very long,” “Wow. Cactuses are so much taller than I ever thought,” “Remember, comfortable shoes for Friday,” “What’s a pretty girl like you doing in Jerome?,” “Who is Judy?,” “You need to leave!,” “Men, why can’t you just keep it in your pants? Are you, uh, asking me?,” “Gabbi! Are you all right?,” “I like women,” “So let me get this straight, no pun intended. He told you he liked you so you told him you’re a lesbian?,” “Just remember, G, you’ve got this and I believe in you,” “I warned you,” “Get back here you yellow bellied coward!,” “Sorry I didn’t listen to your warning. I’m sorry that you didn’t make it out,” “I can’t do this,” “I’m not stalking you. I promise. I just got worried when you didn’t show up,” “Why is this happening to me?,” “You want me to know all of this, don’t you?,” “I can’t do this. To hell I can’t,” “Slow down, Bannister,” “Bannister, what’s that?,” “You are? I am you. I don’t understand,” “Someone has to pay the price,” “That’s it. The rice is paid and the curse is broken. You can go now,” and “Can we all just calm down here? No one needs to get hurt.”
