The Forest

Plot synopsis:
Sara Price (Natalie Dormer), an American woman, receives a phone call from the Japanese police telling her that they think her troubled twin sister Jess is dead, as she was seen going into Aokigahara, a forest at the northwest base of Mount Fuji in Japan known as a popular destination for the suicidal. Despite the concerns of her fiancé, Rob (Eoin Macken), she journeys to Japan and arrives at the hotel where her sister was staying.At her hotel, Sara meets a fellow American reporter named Aiden (Taylor Kinney). They drink together, and she tells him of her parents' death in a drunk driving accident years earlier, which her sister witnessed, but Sara did not. Aiden invites her to go into the forest with him and a park guide, Michi, so she can look for her sister.The next day, as the three enter Aokigahara, Michi tells Sara that Jess has most likely killed herself. Deep in the woods, the group discovers a yellow tent that Sara recognizes as Jess's. With nightfall approaching, Michi suggests they leave a note for Jess and leave. Sara refuses, and Aiden volunteers to stay with her through the night.That night, Sara hears rustling in the bushes and, believing it may be Jess, rushes into the woods after them. Sara finds a young Japanese girl, Hochiko, who claims to know Jess. The girl warns Sara not to trust Aiden and flees at the sound of his voice. Sara attempts to chase after her but falls and loses her.The next day, Aiden and Sara become lost and begin to walk around the forest. As they walk, Sara's suspicions are raised and she demands Aiden to give her his phone and finds a picture of Jess on it. Aiden denies any involvement with Jess, but Sara runs into the forest alone. While running she begins to hear voices telling her to turn around. She appears to be unfazed by this until she hears the voice directly behind her. She turns around to see a hanging body and continues to run away. She then falls into an underground cave and goes unconscious, later she wakes up and discovers that she is in the cave with Hochiko, who turns out to be a yrei. Hochiko then turns into what appears to be a "demonic figure". Sara then runs the opposite way towards what appears to be Aiden. Aiden finds her and helps her out of the cave and, with some convincing, they continue to walk together.Aiden brings Sara to an old ranger station he'd discovered while looking for her. Inside, Sara hears her sister's voice coming from the basement and finds a note which implies that Aiden is holding Jess captive in the basement. Convinced that he is a threat, Sara attacks and kills a horrified Aiden with a small kitchen knife. As he dies, Sara realizes that Aiden was telling the truth and that the picture on his phone, the voice at the basement door and the note itself, had all been hallucinations.In the basement of the ranger station, Sara sees a vision of the night her parents died from Jess's point of view. It was actually a murder-suicide initiated by her father. The ghost of her father suddenly appears and lunges toward her, grabbing her wrist. She cuts his fingers away from her wrist and escapes the station. Running into the forest, she sees Jess running toward the lights of the search party. Sara calls to her sister, who is unable to hear her. She realizes that her escape from the ranger station was another hallucination. When she cut at her father's fingers she was actually cutting deep into her own wrists, and is now dying from blood loss in the basement. As she succumbs to her wounds, a yrei pulls Sara into the forest floor. Her very much alive sister is rescued by the search party and explains that the feeling of her sister is gone and it is assumed that Jess knows Sara is dead. As the search party leaves, Michi is seen staring at a figure and realizes, too late, that it's Sara's evil spirit who lunges at him.

Tags: paranormal, violence

Review:
Its inherently scary atmosphere is perfect for a good horror movie, but The Forest mostly squanders its promise by degrading it to a hot spot for cheap jump scares.
2014's As Above, So Below took an intrinsically creepy setting, the Paris catacombs, and used an unsettling atmosphere and good scares to make one of the better horror films of that year.
The Forest has a committed performance from Natalie Dormer and glimmers of an interesting movie but mostly wastes them on predictable jump scares and a bland story..
On the positive side, actress Natalie Dormer makes a good work in the dual role of Sara and Jesse, displaying equal credibility in the suspense sequences and the dramatic scenes she shares with her "sister" or the gallant in turn.
It's become far too common to kick off a new year with an underwhelming horror film (2012 had "The Devil Inside," 2013 had "Texas Chainsaw 3D," 2014 had "Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones," and 2015 had "The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death"), and if nothing else, that seems to be the only constant in American cinema alongside with a surefire hurricane of blockbusters starting in May and continuing through July)."The Forest" is set in the Aokigahara Forest, located in Japan's sacred Mount Fuji.
We focus on Sara Price (Natalie Dormer), a young woman who gets a call from the Japanese police telling her that her missing twin sister Jess (also played by Dormer) is dead after she was seen going into the Aokigahara Forest.
The next morning, the two venture into Aokigahara with a park ranger named Michi (Yukiyoshi Ozawa), in efforts to try and find Jess.The idea of the forest, as explained in very disjointed and vague manners by the locals throughout the course of the film, is that if there is an inkling of sadness in your heart upon entering Aokigahara, it will be exploited through things that you will see in the forest to the point where you'll believe the only way out is suicide.
This is especially frustrating since, from the beginning, Zada and company make it seem like they will develop the story in a manner that's focused on the characters, only to leave the most intriguing soul of the entire film undeveloped in her motivations and her intentions.Well-shot, but lacking sustenance and the graceful blend of character and location, "The Forest" is a mediocre horror film, though its PG-13 makes it perfectly acceptable for the middle school/high school crowd to experience a Friday night scare.
As far as horror movies goes this one is not bad..The theme of the suicide forest is intriguing.The stranger in a strange land them works well here.the film avoids most of the horror clichés.It has plenty of creepy moments and you'll jump a few times.The production is high and Natalie Dormer gives a good twist on the scream queen ..Her character is not dumb repeating cliché lines and behavior..The questions that run though your head her character answers.The film has a dark ending and is not fairy tale at all..I don't understand why its so poorly rated its not that bad...its a good scary movie......
It really does not hurt that Natalie Dormer is fun to look at for an hour or two as she plays a woman looking for her twin sister who entered a forest in Japan known to attract those who want to commit suicide and never comes out.
A deep, dark forest with many reasons to fear it is the primary setting for the horror thriller "The Forest" (PG-13, 1:35).Jess and Sara Price (both played by Natalie Dormer) are twins, but are identical in looks only.
In order to avoid spoilers, all I'll say further is that over the ensuing hours, Sara's quest to find her sister gets more complicated and scarier and when Michi returns, he finds an empty tent."The Forest" is an original and entertaining horror movie.
First-time feature film director Jason Zada gives us enough scary images (a few of which might make some Movie Fans jump in their seats) to qualify this as a horror film, but it's effectiveness lies in what you don't see – and don't know about the characters and their surroundings.Every movie of this type has its surprises and twists, but Zada doesn't overdo anything and the reveals he does put forward feel organic.
And yet, despite these obvious reservations, 'The Forest' is in fact a pretty decent low-budget horror, one that incorporates J-horror tropes into a surprisingly suspenseful story of psychological malaise.Through a series of flashbacks occurring as the twenty-something year-old Sara Price (Natalie Dormer) journeys to the Land of the Rising Sun, we are told of how she has a twin sister named Jess working as a school teacher in Tokyo who has mysteriously disappeared into the titular Suicide Forest about five days ago.
Somewhat too fortuitously, Sara runs into a reporter named Aiden (Taylor Kinney) working for an Australian travel magazine who takes an interest in her predicament and offers to let her use his guide Michi (Yukiyoshi Ozawa) to explore the forest in return for giving him permission to write about her.As they always do, things take a turn for the worse after she steps off the beaten track – not only does she start hearing voices all around, Sara becomes disillusioned after seeing a schoolgirl who claims to carry a message from Jess not to trust Aiden.
According to Western horror, Aiden would probably have met Jess a few days before and be at the very least linked to her fate; but as any self-respecting J- horror fan will tell you, you'll do wiser than to trust an innocent- looking schoolgirl who claims to be helpful.Not to spoil any surprises for those intending to find out the truth on their own, but let's just say that the script credited to Ben Ketai, Sarah Cornwell and Nick Antosca does a fairly competent job of keeping you guessing right up to the very end.
Deserving of mention too is 'Game of Thrones'' Dormer, who pulls off a compelling double-act as Sara and Jess, identical twins whose differing personalities have been unknowingly shaped by their experience of that tragic event from their childhood.To be sure, 'The Forest' won't be a classic anytime soon, but you could do and could go much worse with a film like this.
What starts off as a collection of clichés – whether the twin that goes in search of her missing sibling or the dreams that she has which are somehow meant to be omens or warnings of what had happened – and trite jump scares turns out to be much more by the time the credits run in this effectively brief 94-minute movie, melding the fundamental elements of J-horror with a psychological thriller that will be more familiar to audiences on a diet of Western horror.
Then you might enjoy 'The Forest's spooky children, jump scares, and avoiding spoilers, all of the other movie making flair-less cheats utilised in the current cinema trends.With all of these brilliant things to praise the film with, the bonus is its ignorance towards Japanese culture, turning a beautiful and sacred (but admittedly eerie) place into something of evil, and disregarding mental health sufferers and victims of suicide as 'sad'.I'm currently wondering if MindUK will be supporting the sequel, which sees an American Keira Knightley lookalike chased by ghost children with trick or treat masks on at Beachy Head..
Again, have you ever seen a horror movie to where the film tricks you to think the characters actually going through a trauma, but awakes to find out it's just a nightmare?
I personally felt as if this movie overdid that quite a bit, it kept having our main character, Sarah dream of something terrifying, then awake - Once again leading the film to just throw that randomly in there for the sake of scaring us.
So the main actress you are supposed to be voting for and be with her on this journey,yeah,she's awful.The only thing she does is ask stupid questions every two minutes and being totally dumb.I honestly hated Natalia Dormer's performance,she is just not good in any way.On the other hand i thought Taylor Kinney was OK because he is charismatic and likable and that's about the only positive thing about this movie.
If silly horror clichés, stereotypical characters and cheap jump scares that we have seen a million times already aren't enough to make you sympathize with people who actually do go into the Suicide Forest, then you probably are the most cheerful person in the world, and nothing can break you down.
The movie Forest should have come out 15 years earlier, when the Ring was out, and studios started popping the Americanized versions of Japanese horror films like hot cakes.
THE FOREST is a surprising treat that not only has some star turns from Dormer (yes, multiple roles for the GAME OF THRONES and THE TUDORS star) but holds a story of a desperate struggle that keeps you enticed until the very end.When news of her twin sister, Jess (Natalie Dormer) has gone missing reaches Sarah (Natalie Dormer) she heads to Japan to seek the truth to her disappearance.
While the film shares much in tone with other eastern features such as TALE OF TWO SISTERS or ACACIA where the real scares are the psychological human emotions rather than the ghosts beyond the trees.Natalie Dormer first lead role proves once more she is a powerhouse of an actress playing both of the twins to good effect.
Its J-Horror influence will be familiar with any movie goer familiar with the genres ability to share a darker side to humanity released in the form of the supernatural yet still have a lead whose western culture is unflattered by the lack of technology in a world where there seems a greater divide between nature and urban jungles.Interestingly, Jason Zada couldn't be further away from last year's HOUSES THAT October BUILT, sharing a bigger budget, effective lighting (or lack of) and a story that hones in on the heart of its central character rather than the spirits in the forest that could have been a much scarier experience, albeit one that lacked heart.
It's merely a "meh" movie with nothing special to set it apart.The film follows American Sara Price (Natalie Dormer), who is informed that her twin-sister Jess has vanished into Japan's Aokigahara Forst- a vast forest at the base of Mount Fuji, well- known for the numerous suicides to have occurred deep within.
Unable to believe her sister is dead due to their deep and complex connection as twins, Sara ventures into the forest with reporter Aiden (Taylor Kinney) in hopes of finding her before the dark forces surrounding them claim her very soul...The fundamental issue with the film is that the idea- an intriguing one- is mishandled.
Was not sure what I watched here..Had a feeling there was an underlying story but I cannot for the life of me think what it was...It was all a bit messy but it somehow pulled me in...one of those movies that I think you have to think for yourself..full of innuendo but a bit floundering..A few half decent jump moments and held quite a menacing feel with eerie silence but I still am not sure what I watched.I would imagine some very bad and very good reviews for this as you will either love it or loathe it.One thing is the lead..i found her a bit unlikable...I wasn't particularly bothered what happened to her and would have liked to see more of the almost telepathic thoughts of the twins....I also got the feeling that she was a bit mad and there was never even a twin...just a split personality..but like I said before...I still don't know what I watched with this one..
The intriguing and Potentially Scary subject, a Suicide Forest, is Wasted with nothing but Jump Scares, familiar J-Horror faced Demons, and Horrifying set-ups that never once Horrify.It's Bland and Cliché driven to the point of Yawn inducement and with Boredom beginning to unfold, the Film Fails to Deliver on its promise to be something a bit Different with just more of the Same.
The Lack of Creativity is stunning considering what was here to work with.There are the Twins and Their Biological Connectivity, the back story of the Parents, the Unforgiving Forest, Stuck in the Woods with a Could-Be Psycho, and On and On.No need to go on because it Isn't Worth It. A Wasted opportunity that is Lazy, borderline Incomprehensible at times, Badly Acted, and Insulting with nothing but Jump Scare after Jump Scare that the Movie is Not Deserving of any Consideration and must be Condemned for its deceptive Conceit that a Horror Movie can be Entertaining without anything but...Been there, Done that..
It doesn't mean it has no merit, few of its moments are quite delightful, yet it spends most of the time wandering across predictable set-ups and mundane scares.Sara (Natalie Dormer) goes to Japan to find her missing twin sister Jess (also Natalie Dormer).
It's got its moments where the creepiness and gloom of the forest actually come across; the producers were intelligent enough to focus on the mental aspect of its horror in the main, rather than on gross shock effects which occur *relatively* scarce in the movie.
Even the story had something to offer rather than the conventional horror movie strategy of simply moving the plot along by conjuring up a way to present a cheap jump scare.
But once again, the movie does burden itself with jump scares and an ending that seems a bit rushed, but for a January "horror" flick, this psychological thriller does enough to keep you thoroughly entertained for what it offers.
Just like people, ghosts have personalities too and so it'd be interesting to see how each interacts with the characters.But apart from this, this movie has a lot going for it: terrific setting, naturally mysterious Japanese culture that perfectly lends itself to such stories, very good acting overall, mostly unpredictable plot, and a fairly original story.
I definitely agree that they would have done better by focusing more on the Forest aspect and the Yin Yang type of correlation going on between the sisters instead of these typical jump scares, but overall the movie was definitely a good one for me..
The movie has a good start, it feels like its actually going to build a good story and be more than a few jump scares, it sets a big stake for the later parts of the movie but when it gets there , everything crumbles: stupid jump scares, not so good acting, crappy dialogue, characters doing stuff that makes no sense, and worst of all NOT SCARY!
Its a great starting point for a film that soon becomes little more than a scary jaunt through the woods, with a few ghostly "jump in your chair scares", along the way.The acting is reasonable, but the key character literally and metaphorically, gets lost in this aimless, wandering flick.
Well,As you know,The Forest is about Sara went to Aokigahara Forest in Japan just for finding her identical twin that was lost.This movie is great but there are many ideas that the producer not show in this title.First,the producer wasn't explain the beginning,why Jess can get lost.Second,the film said the Aokigahara Forest is very dangerous but they not show what was happening before the forest called 'THE SUICIDE FOREST'.Third,there are only 3 ghost shown in this movie?
Some of the jump scenes in this film actually did make me jump and it's been over 3 years before I can genuinely say that a horror film made me jump.The acting isn't bad, the story line isn't terrible and it's based around what I feel is a unique so far unexplored concept (suicide forest).This film is definitely worth watching..
which is why it sucks that the film never managed to do that.The film follows typical horror movie hot blonde Sarah (Natalie Dormer) as she embarks on a journey into the suicide forests of Japan to find her twin sister who is believed to have killed herself (also Natalie Dormer).
The movie starts off with a women finding out that her sister is lost in the suicide forest in Japan and she goes looking for her.
First of all don't listen to those haters, cause this movie is not that bad, it has decent enough of scary scenes and i personally think that this story is very good, its a kind of a different story from other horror movies, and also very good place to get scared, i mean what is a better place than a suicide forest right?
Sara Price (Dormer) discovers her twin sister 'Jess (Dormer) has vanished in Japan's infamous 'Suicide Forest' It really exists i looked it up 'Aokigahara ' .
The jump scares,all the time,but anyway,The Forest is a really good horror film,going down there as one of my favorites.
It's not as awful as I had expected, though I expected complete trash, it's certainly far from a good or even average film.The Forest tells the story of Sara Price, played by Dormer, who goes looking for her sister, Jess, in the Aokigahara Forest which is known to be a common destination for suicides.
This is the setting in which this story unfolds in this rather poorly done horror film.Sara Price, played by Natalie Dormer (famously known as Queen Margery Tyrell in Game of Thrones) is a young woman who gets a phone call from Japan, informing her that her twin sister, Jess, has mysteriously gone missing, presumably in the Aokigahara Forest.
The film deals with an interesting subject (Japan's suicide forest) and has a nice twist along the way but sadly this film lacks any real atmosphere or scares and has a lead character who you really don't like, which is what ultimately kills the movie.For the life of me I couldn't figure out whey they made the lead character such an unlikable person.
Even B grade horror films that sound like movies whose success they are counting are spades better than The Forest.