The Woods is a 2006 American supernatural horror film directed by Lucky McKee and starring Agnes Bruckner, Patricia Clarkson, Rachel Nichols, Lauren Birkell and Bruce Campbell.

In 1965, rebellious teenager Heather Fasulo is sent to the boarding school Falburn Academy, run by headmistress Ms. Traverse and located in the middle of the woods.

The girls tell Heather a spooky story about the history of Falburn, which includes three young redheaded sisters who arrived at the school and turned out to be witches, killing the headmistress before leaving to the woods.

Later, she is confronted in the woods by Samantha, who tells her that the school is led by a coven of witches, and that her bullying was intended to drive Heather away to protect her.

Ms. Traverse has Heather dragged away, then slits her own hand and forces her black blood down Joe's throat, rendering him catatonic.

Ms. Traverse is their leader, and she explains that their spirits have been trapped in the woods all these years, and they need to inhabit the bodies of young women to escape their imprisonment, with Heather as the centerpiece of her plan since she has the strongest powers.

[9][10] Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released the film direct-to-DVD in the United States on October 3, 2006[11] following festival screenings.

[14] Michael Gingold of Fangoria praised the film's use of color and Bruckner's lead performance, and compared it to Dario Argento's Suspiria (1977) as well as the works of other Italian horror filmmakers such as Lucio Fulci.

Chillingly punctuated by vivid nightmare sequences and harrowing confrontations between students, teachers, and the woods themselves, the flow of fear heads in only one direction… off the proverbial beaten path where it’s happy to reveal the sinister fairytale that lies at the heart of every darkened forest.