“The Silencing – Death in the Woods” was filmed just outside of Greater Sudbury in southeastern Canada and offers everything a solid survival thriller needs. In addition, screenwriter Micah Ranum and director Robin Pront have added a few elements and twists that might surprise even seasoned fans of the genre.
“The Silencing – Death in the Woods” will be shown today, January 29, 2023, at 11:10 PM on ZDF Neo. If that is too late for a Sunday evening, but you still want to see the film, you can stream it for free on all other days of the week until July 30, 2023 via the ZDF media library. For reasons of youth protection, it is only accessible there without registration between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. – with registration and age verification, however, at any time.
Alternatively, the FSK 16 title is available as Blu-ray and DVD, as well as paid video-on-demand from the usual online stores or streaming services:
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“The Silencing” on ZDF Neo: that’s the story
Rayburn Swanson (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) is a former hunter who has given up killing animals as a sport. A hermit, he now lives in total isolation in the wilderness of the Rocky Mountains. There he single-handedly maintains and guards a huge game reserve, giving him enough freedom to drink to excess and worry about his teenage daughter Gwen, who disappeared here five years ago.
One day, after watching surveillance video of a mysterious figure wandering the woods, Swanson discovers a female corpse during his routine nature walk. Everything indicates that the young woman was hunted to death with a modern crossbow. A little later he finds more human remains that show similar marks. Swanson is sure he is dealing with a particularly treacherous serial killer who may also be responsible for his daughter’s fate. He promises to track down the killer.
Suddenly he is interrupted by the new sheriff of the county: Alice Gustafson (Annabelle Wallis) shows up at Swanson’s cabin. The resolute law enforcement officer finally wants to close the case of his girl, who is still officially believed to be missing, and have Gwen declared dead. Swanson’s now-remarried ex-wife, Debbie (Melanie Scrofano), has…
The star cast of “The Silencing”
Initially, director Anders Engstrom of the series “Taboo” and “Hanna” was planned to direct “The Silencing”. However, when the Finn had to pull out of the project due to scheduling conflicts with the completion of another “See” season, Robin Pront took over. The Belgian had recommended himself with the atmospheric “The Ardennes”, which was filmed in his homeland. The thriller is currently available to view for free to all subscribers on the Amazon Prime Video program.
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Pront had an astonishing quality cast for an indie film for his first English-language work. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (“Oblivion”) took on the lead role as a recluse shaken by several personal problems. The Dane had become a global star with his award-winning performance as Jaime Lannister in the series phenomenon “Game Of Thrones”.
On camera along with Coster-Waldau were Melanie Scrofano, the titular heroine of the supernatural western series Wynonna Earp, and Hero Fiennes Tiffin. As the brooding “Bad Boy” Hardin Scott, Fiennes Tiffin has been captivating the hearts of young moviegoers in the “After” series for four installments now (the fifth is currently in the works!). Recently, however, the Brit showed an unexpected comic side in zombie fun The Loneliest Boy In The World.
Annabelle Wallis played the female lead in “The Silencing,” as the sheriff who confronts the protagonist about his past. After supporting roles in blockbusters like X-Men: First Class, The Mummy and King Arthur, as well as the brilliant TV series Peaky Blinders, her breakthrough came with Saw mastermind James Wan’s Malignant. With our FILMSTARTS review, we declare the innovatively implemented and wonderfully entertaining horror spectacle the best horror film of 2021.
Besides all these committed and believable stars, the natural landscape captured by lead cameraman Manuel Dacosse (“Axolotl Overkill”) is sometimes breathtakingly beautiful, sometimes harsh and menacing, a decisive factor. The visually excellently used, rocky yet densely wooded terrain contributes a lot to the atmosphere and thus to the success of the film.
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