The Forest

As a child, i spend many summers out in my grandfathers summer house. Since it was pretty close to the ocean, we would go out with his boat, to swim from small islands, and just enjoy a hot summer day. On some evenings, we would have barbecues, where we also used his old stone owen to get hot dogs really tasty from a real fire. But i remember something else, as we were sitting there, especially on a late night. As he walked off, to head towards bed, i would sit there looking at the fire. As the forest areas around his cabin, became more dark, you would feel that someone was watching from the trees. Almost like something was out there, watching you, observing you, and perhaps confront you out of the dark forest. We all have our memories from childhood, where we remember moments where we felt fear. It could be at any location really, in an dark alley, in an old building. But there is something creepy about being close to a forest, in a dark night. It feels like there could be an animal watching you, or perhaps another person ? There are plenty of films that have used a forest theme in horror films. And it is actually a good idea to use a forest, if you have a good idea for a horror film. One film, that managed to pull this off, was The Cabin In The Woods. At first you might think this is just a rip off completely of Evil Dead, but it manage to give us a different unexpected twist that worked well. If you have not seen it, and enjoy horror films, i suggest you rent it. We also have The Woods, a horror film from 2006, directed by Lucky McKee. The story of a young woman, who is sent to a boarding school, do have some nice creepy moments. And another important detail, Bruce Campbell is also in this film, that is a good reason to see this film. No matter what we are scared of in a forest, we always see this come back into the horror genre. In early january, a new film called The Forest had a cinema release. I was hearing some positive reviews from some critics, and that is not usual from a january horror film release. Usually, most films in this genre get panned by critics this month of a new year, but The Forest seemed to change that tradition. I got a chance to see it, not even seing a trailer. Is this a suprisingly good start of horror movies in 2016, or is this just another cash in release, hoping to make some cash, but don´t deliver anything ?

Sara Price ( Natalie Dormer ) recive a phone call from Japan. Her twin sister Jess ( Natalie Dormer ) is most likely dead. She was last seen going into the Aokigahara Forest, known as the Suicide Forest. Every year people are found dead in this forest, and the people who come here plan to take suicide. Sara refuse to belive that her sister is dead, so she decide to travel to Japan and find out if she could still be alive. At the hotel she stays at, she meets journalist reporter Aiden ( Taylor Kinney ). She tells him the reason why she is in Japan. Aiden asks if he can write an article on this, and she agree. But Aiden knows about the Suicide Forest, and suggest that he get a local guide as they search for Jess. The guide makes it very clear, no one leaves the path. As the crew go on their journey through the woods, nothing will ever be the same again.

Remember what i said earlier, that some critics were positive for The Forest, for being a january horror film release ? It is actually not all bad. I am curious about a suicide forest, located in Japan. Just the thought of this makes you curious to see why people commit suicide. This forest actually exist, so this is an interesting detail, that this is not made up. The forest name is Aokigahara, and they find dead bodies here every year. So, to make a film based on this is a very interesting idea. To make a story like this interesting, you have to make sure that you stay true to the real facts. There are elements here, that follow the rules of visitors. Never leave the path, always make sure you know that you are going in the right direction. There are some positive surprises here, that the film is actually not terrible all the way. The story about a twin sister, trying to find out if her sister is still alive, is actually quite good. Lead actor Natalie Dormer ( who most of you might know from Games Of Thrones, including the last Hunger Games films ), is the most strong character in this film. Her performance is the key to this film, i have a feeling that The Forest would not have delivered anything without her. Just the fact that she does 2 roles, including her twin sister, must have been challenging . So does this mean the rest of the film is bad ? Not completely, but let´s get to the problems. Jump scares are used, to try and scare us. For the most part it does not give the film anything positive, just a few times where we actually feel frightened. Another detail is that i am not really interested in the character Aiden, played by Taylor Kinney. He just feels a bit too predictable, and does not do much to make us feel interested. One of the things i do enjoy, is the scenes where dead bodies are hanging in the trees, silently, now this is more creepy than jump scares. Director Jason Zada is mostly known for working on the popular Elf Yourself website, and campaign, including the interactive short horror film Take This Lollipop. The Forest is his directorial debut film, and he does a pretty good job, for a while. When the jump scares take over, and the predictable storyline feels to light, we simply don´t get much more. Too bad, there is an interesting idea here, unfortunately not executed correctly. The Forest is not as horrible as you might think, but it does not give anything fresh, or interesting. I am looking forward to see the new independent horror film The Witch. Now, that might actually be something that could be scary.

Rating: DD