Movie review
June 3, 2016 · 101 min · R
Woke Score
Lower is better
Review
Into the Forest is a 2015 Canadian drama about two sisters who must survive alone in a remote Pacific Northwest forest after a massive unexplained power outage collapses society. The sisters face starvation, a violent intruder, the death of their father, and the challenges of giving birth in the wild while deepening their bond and learning basic survival skills. The story centers on female resilience and sisterhood in crisis with a noticeable feminist perspective in its focus on women’s agency and relationships, but it contains no explicit political lectures, identity messaging, or modern activist framing that average viewers would flag as agenda-driven.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Into the Forest.
Woke representation / casting
Two white female leads drive a natural sister-survival story in a remote forest setting; casting fits the premise with no visible forced diversity, gender swaps, or identity signaling.
Woke political dialogue
No explicit activist speeches, institutional critiques, or modern political talking points; dialogue stays grounded in personal survival and family.
Identity-driven story themes
Clear emphasis on the sisters’ bond, female resilience, and one character’s agency after trauma (including keeping a rape-conceived pregnancy); some reviewers called out a feminist lens uncommon in the genre, though it remains character-focused rather than message-heavy.
Western institutional / cultural critique
Shows modern tech-dependent society fracturing into violence and scarcity after blackout, with characters thriving by returning to nature and basic skills; this stays a neutral post-apocalyptic tale without activist framing of patriarchy, capitalism, or current social norms.
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Almost no backlash or “woke” accusations; limited coverage and quiet reception with zero notable complaints about identity politics or representation pushes.
Creator track record context
Patricia Rozema built a career on feminist and queer-themed films exploring women and outsiders; Elliot Page (producer and star) had an established record of LGBTQ activism and producing related projects by 2015-2016. These add light context but do not turn the film into overt activism.
Production
