The Barrens is a 2012 American horror film written and directed by Darren Lynn Bousman and starring Stephen Moyer and Mia Kirshner.

Richard Vineyard, his wife Cynthia, his daughter Sadie, and his young son Danny leave their suburban home for a camping trip.

They want to leave civilization behind and bond as a family in the Pine Barrens, a forest in southern New Jersey.

They stay in a crowded commercial campsite full of obnoxious campers who are not inclined to abandon civilization: cell phones and loud music abound.

While setting up his tent, Richard has a flashback to a traumatic event from his childhood that occurred in the Barrens.

Richard, who appears weakened by illness, leads his family deeper into the forest, away from the trails, to a new campsite.

They find a campsite containing a decomposed dog, a shredded tent, and furs hanging to dry, but no people.

Richard disposes of the dog, and discovers that another camper, Ryan, has been following them and is communicating secretly with Sadie by cell phone.

Cynthia gathers the family and they leave immediately, but Danny and Richard get ahead and disappear.

Cynthia calls the police, and she and Sadie discover Ryan's disemboweled corpse; Richard's knife is next to the body.

Afterwards, Sadie joins the ranger and a group of hunters, with the intent on hunting the Jersey Devil down.

[2] Bousman originally intended to shoot the film in the actual Pine Barrens of New Jersey, but filming eventually took place in the Toronto, Ontario area for budgetary reasons with the cast and crew mainly staying in the town of Caledon.

[citation needed] The Barrens was released on Blu-ray, DVD, and digital download on October 9, 2012.

Included on the Blu-ray and DVD releases is an audio commentary with director Darren Lynn Bousman and cinematographer Joseph White, as well as a deleted scene which serves as an alternative ending.

Director Bousman considers this ending not to be canon, joking that those scenes will be "saved for the sequel".

In his review of the film, Gallman wrote, "The Barrens is an unfortunate bait and switch that bungles its intriguing setup and degenerates into a muddled, predictable routine.