The Forest Movie Review

Identical twins have a connection stronger than average siblings; so when Sara Price’s (Natalie Dormer) twin sister Jess Price (also played by Dormer) goes missing she knows something isn’t right.

The scene is set; Japan, a secluded forest, a missing person, and a potential suicide.

Despite its lackluster performance on screen, “The Forest” brought in over $13 million opening weekend.

This movie had a few good scares. The scariest was the scene with the elderly woman in the hallway. There is a long dark hallway where Sara is walking. The lights are barely flickering on and then BAM! there is an elderly asian woman who looks blind and she is right in Sara’s face. It makes you jump out of your seat.

Throughout the movie the forest plays tricks on Sara’s sadness, which makes her turn against Aiden (Taylor Kinney).

Once Sara feels betrayed by Aiden, she begins to run frantically through the Aokigahara forest without knowing which direction to go, or if Aiden is close behind.

In the movie Aokigahara forest is said to play on your fears. Earlier in the movie Sara had seen a suicide victim, which was very traumatic for her. After running away from Aiden she starts hearing voices and then the “victim” appears and scares Sara into another sporadic run.

A scene that caused a lot of screams in the theater was in a cave. Sara falls into the cave while running away. A girl appears and tells her that miss Jess wants to see her. It seemed like Sara was going to be reunited with her missing sister at last, but it was too good to be true. Dead creatures start appearing and yelling at Sara. They chase her through the cave to the opening. And there at the opening Aiden is waiting to rescue her.

The maggot scene by the river was also a real stomach turner. Nothing screams disgusting like a bunch of maggots crawling in human flesh.

One aspect of the movie that didn’t work was the scene where Sara was by herself, the scare to come was obvious. Of course something scary was about to happen.

The final downfall was the ending. It was a major letdown. Just when all seemed to be going in one direction it went the opposite. It wasn’t the ending I expected, and it definitely didn’t work.

If a semi-jump out of your seat horror flick is your thing, then head over to the nearest cinema and check out “The Forest.” It’ll do the job.

STARRING: Natalie Dormer and Taylor Kinney

DIRECTOR: Jason Zada

PRODUCTION: AI-Film and Lava Bear Films

GENRE: Horror

RATED: PG-13

OVERALL RATING:  2.5 out of 5