Nerdly » ‘A Stranger in the Woods’ VOD Review

12th Feb2026

‘A Stranger in the Woods’ VOD Review

by Joel Harley

Stars: Laura Ellen Wilson, Bill Oberst Jr., Lynn Lowry, Shawn Michael Clankie | Written by József Gallai, Beáta Boldog | Directed by József Gallai

In unsettling found footage film A Stranger in the Woods, by director József Gallai, filmmaker Edith (Laura Ellen Wilson) heads into remote woodland America to interview the reclusive old man said to be living there.

And there’s nobody stranger in the woods than Victor (Bill Oberst Jr.), an eccentric yet amiable soul who’s cut himself off from society to live in almost complete isolation. While that sounds like the perfect setup for a horror film, patient Edith hits it off with oddball Victor, and the pair settle into an unexpectedly warm and tender kind of friendship. However, it eventually becomes clear that there’s more to the situation than meets the eye – and, as the less savoury layers of Victor’s personality are peeled back, the sinister truth is revealed.

This slow-burn thriller serves largely as a two-hander between Wilson and Oberst, and both are well-matched in their performances. Wilson has the unenviable job of playing straight woman to Oberst’s more colourful oddball, which she does successfully while making a sympathetic figure of the tragic, haunted Edith.

At the same time, prolific indie horror actor Oberst Jr. gets to take centre stage in playing Victor, turning on a dime between mild-mannered hermit and sinister predator. While he certainly sells Victor as a kindly figure, it’s no stretch to think that he might be hiding a terrible secret – a danger made evident in a sudden temper tantrum, and his odd preference in burger meat. Has Victor been made harmlessly bonkers by years of isolation, or is Edith in grave danger? It’s to the film’s credit that we can never quite tell where it’s headed, even if the clues are there all along.

Between the found footage approach and Oberst’s nuanced, quietly menacing performance, there are shades of Creep to its story. A Stranger in the Woods doesn’t have quite the same control over its tone or pacing though, and tends to meander and lose focus, even within its brief runtime.

The film’s slower, ambling approach may not be to all tastes, but A Stranger in the Woods is a different take on the found footage horror film, favouring character over scares – and how many times do you need to see someone dragged kicking and screaming away from the camera, into the darkness anyway? However, it’s a fine showcase for star Bill Oberst Jr, who gets to show off his chops in a role that only he could have played.