Directed by:
Jason ZadaCinematography:
Mattias TroelstrupComposer:
Bear McCrearyCast:
Natalie Dormer, Eoin Macken, Stephanie Vogt, Taylor Kinney, Yukiyoshi Ozawa, Masashi Fujimoto, Rina Takasaki, 紗倉のり子, Jozef Aoki, Yûho Yamashita, Ibuki Kaneda (more)VOD (1)
Plots(1)
An American woman, Sara (played by Natalie Dormer of Game of Thrones and The Hunger Games), journeys to the forest in search of her twin sister Jess (also played by Ms. Dormer), who has mysteriously disappeared. Frustrated at Jess' pattern of behavior, Sara's husband Rob (Eoin Macken of The Night Shift) is unable to talk his wife out of making the 6,000-mile trip. After a visit to the school where Jess teaches, the resourceful Sara sets out for the forest itself. Accompanied by a charismatic new acquaintance, expatriate journalist Aiden (Taylor Kinney of Chicago Fire), she enters the forest having been well warned to "stay on the path." Forest guide Michi (Japanese star Yukiyoshi Ozawa) keeps a protective eye on them both, but when night falls he cannot dissuade them from staying in the forest, and reluctantly leaves the duo to face the elements alone.
Fear soon fragments Sara's consciousness; she begins to question Aiden's motives, including his claim that he has never seen Jess. Determined to discover the truth about her sister's fate, Sara will have to face the angry and tormented souls of the dead that prey on anyone who dares come near them. These malevolent spirits lying in wait for Sara at every turn will plunge her into a frightening darkness from which she must fight to save herself.
(official distributor synopsis)
Reviews (6)
Perhaps even the screenwriter himself didn’t know what was reality and what was only in the protagonist’s head. Or at least which of her imaginings would have an effect on reality and, if so, what kind of effect. It seems likely that he also didn’t know exactly what happened at the end. The Forest is supposed to scare with ghostly interpolations in the mold of the American version of The Grudge, and even the idea of angry ghosts of people who have committed suicide in the woods is borrowed from the Japanese original Ju-on: The Grudge. However, it lacks the clarity and balance between reality, childhood demons and frightening illusions in the forest, and the visual sophistication of the camerawork and editing that we’re used to from high-quality horror films are surprisingly missing here. This below-average film is a waste of the subject matter’s strong potential (that suicide forest in Japan really does exist).
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The Aokigahara Forest caused visions not only to the main character of this film, but also to me, the viewer. While the screen was showing an average, unambitious American horror film, what I saw was mainly the squandered potential and the fog-shrouded, excellent film that could be made on the basis of that place. But for that, Jason Zada would’ve had to try a little harder and build things on something more than several, and to a great extent cheap jump scares; to play with heavy paranoia, anxiety and insecurity. Or to al least find a somewhat scarier place, because the pine forest they’ve used is actually antiscary. Even that would be enough, see for example the recent The Hallow or The Witch. But, even though I’m rather critical, the horror year of 2016 could have begun a lot worse. This is just about nothing. Watched, standard, carry on.
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The trailer was enticing, I barely finished the film. Almost nothing happens, the scares are absolutely dysfunctional with low audio. Add to that an unsympathetic main character, naive behaviour of everyone involved, mediocre direction and I come up a horror movie the kind we’ve seen a thousand times before (I'm surprised I managed to write it), where the only enticing thing is the Japanese forest, which is unused anyway. Weak, boring. 35%
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The Forest hooks you at first glance with its intriguing theme, which is particularly original thanks to the setting of the story in the cursed Aokigahara forest. The film features other horror elements we have seen before (sisters, ghosts, suicide, paranoia, etc.) and therefore leaves an average impression, although the ending was unpredictable (at least for me) – I have to admit that. In short, a film that will probably get lost in the crowd within its genre, but it's still worth watching and let yourself get a little scared.
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The only mystery about this film is why it’s supposed to be a horror movie or a thriller. For me, the beginning was a boring and protracted preparation of a future victim for what might happen to them while running around the woods, followed by some similarly tedious running around the aforementioned woods, complete with predictable jump scares and an even more predictable ending. Now that I know what the Japanese wells and forests can hide, I can’t wait to see what’s next to come. Some sort of a mysterious cave or stream perhaps?
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The Forest is a film with great potential, a film that could create a place for legends, not only in real life but in the film world as well. And although the filmmakers tried very hard to make it have the right WTF effect at the end, unfortunately, the excitement doesn't really come, and it's pretty gross in places. There is not a single character - except perhaps the Japanese ones - that I like in any way. Very much a missed opportunity.
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