The Horror Show
The Forest
by Jason Zada
Featuring one of Japan’s most tragic landmarks, The Forest is a supernatural horror movie that is not entirely bad — at least story-wise. Haunting manifestations of tormented souls combined with the enigmatic past of two twin sisters and all that set in Aokigahara, also known as the Suicide Forest, are the raw ingredients that could have made this horror movie extremely powerful.
The story follows a young woman, Sara Price (Natalie Dormer), who flies to Tokyo after receiving a call from the local authorities informing her that her twin sister Jess (also played by Dormer) has gone missing. Sara is determined to find her sister and decides to enter Aokigahara, where Jess was last seen walking into. Not caring about the legend, Sara’s decision to walk into that forest will bring her face to face with tormented ghosts that will haunt every step she takes.
Located at the base of Mount Fuji, the Suicide Forest has become known worldwide due to the considerable number of people who have ended their lives in it. According to the legend, there’s something in the forest that feeds on people’s sadness and grief, driving them to commit suicide.
Screenwriters Ben Ketai, Sarah Cornwell, and Nick Antosca clearly wanted to take advantage of the legend and create a story that would capture the audience and create a chilling, yet sad, atmosphere. However their endeavour was devoid of any soul, mainly because almost everything about the story felt too convenient.
Director Jason Zada (known for the amazing The Houses October Built) also played it safe, delivering unoriginal and rather weak scares that you can actually see coming.
It is quite disappointing that such a promising premise was not successfully formed into a horror-packed audience pleaser. The Forest is probably the kind of movie that you think you want to watch, but in the end if you don’t, you don’t really miss out on anything.
Maria Kriva, HMS
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