The Forest (2016)

User Review

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  TheMovieDiorama

  3 / 10

  The Forest should've been cut down and titled "There Used To Be A Forest, But We Butchered It". You all know I love Japan, their culture and their mythology. A horror film set in the infamous Aokigahara Forest where troubled individuals contemplate their lives and commit suicide should've been more frightening than this. Is this seriously the best they could do? Sara flies to Japan now knowing that her twin sister Jess went into the depths of the cursed forest. She must control her own paranoia and disillusioned mind as she embarks through the 'Sea Of Trees' (bonus points if you see what I did there) to find her sister. Natalie Dormer gives two decent dual performances, the cinematography is splendid and the setting is one of the most fascinating environments in the world. That's all this film has going for it. I physically cannot call this a horror film, there is legitimately nothing scary about this. Heck, some of the trees are scarier than the actual jump scares...seriously, look at those ghastly branches! All the jump scares consist of loud noises or someone's face that turns into a horrible grey ghost face thing...all too repetitive, all too boring. Sara and the gang come across one victim to suicide, which is atleast handled with more care than Logan Paul's controversial video (see...I can be current too!). The second act sees them walk around for thirty minutes as Sara hears voices or sees ghostly apparitions. That's all well and good, but when the tour guide clearly commands "if you see anything unusual, it's not real it is just your mind" you would acknowledge that right? Nooo Sara is thinking she only lives once, lets follow the creepy Japanese school girl in the middle of a dense forest. Then there is some backstory about her parents killing themselves, a few predictable twists and turns in the third act to then only conclude in unsatisfactory fashion. Honestly though, my expectations were low considering this was a first week January release...and still those expectations weren't met. Yawnnn.

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