Into the Forest
Tags: home movie

Plot synopsis:
In the near future, two teenage sisters, Nell and Eva, live in a remotely located home with their father in an old-growth forest. There is a massive, continent-wide power outage that appears to be part of an overall technological collapse. Nell is careless with their car so that the battery is drained, so they are left stranded for days. Eventually their father is able to get the car working and they make it to the nearest town where they are able to buy some limited supplies including gas from a man called Stan. Later Eva attends dance class while her sister meets up with Eli, a boy she has a crush on. Returning home, they see a stranded car and the girls' father offers to help the passengers, but after they brandish guns he moves on.
They are low on gas, and things seem increasingly hostile, so the girls' father tells them they will not be returning to town until the power is back on. Shortly after, while cutting down a tree in the forest, the girls' father has an accident and cuts his leg with a chain saw. Before dying he tells the girls to take care of each other and love one another.
The girls struggle onwards for two months as they run low on food. They are surprised one night by a knock on the door that turns out to be Eli, who walked there looking for Nell. He tells the sisters that he had searched the surrounding houses and they are all abandoned. Nell and Eli sleep together several times and he finally tells her that he heard that out east there is still electricity, internet, and order. He convinces Nell to go with him, but Eva chooses to remain behind. Nell briefly leaves but then turns back after a night away from home, unwilling to leave Eva.
Reunited, the girls begin to do research on the plants in the forest and use it to collect berries and other edibles. One day, after Nell gets her period and realizes she is not pregnant, she encourages Eva to celebrate by getting drunk with her, and the two use some of their gas on the generator and watch home movies of their deceased parents, and Eva dances to music for the first time in half a year.
The following day Nell goes to collect berries while Eva stays behind and chops wood. She is approached by Stan, who rapes her and then steals the remaining gas they have. As a result, the girls become more reclusive, boarding up the house and refusing to go outside. Nell tries to help Eva with her depression, playing her a song and revealing that she had actually hidden the gas and that Stan did not take the rest of it.
Eventually Eva realizes she is pregnant, which helps to jolt her out of her depression. Though Nell encourages her to try to abort the baby, Eva insists on keeping it, saying that she doesn't want to lose anyone else. During her pregnancy Eva states that she'll have a boy and Nell believes she'll have a girl. The two bet on the gas, saying that whoever correctly predicts the baby's gender will win the remaining gas.
During a storm several beams of the roof break and Eva begins to have contractions. The two sisters flee for a hollowed out tree stump that once served as their playhouse, where Eva gives birth to a baby boy. Returning to their now destroyed home, Eva decides to use her prize to destroy their home, so that passersby will think that they died in a fire and they will be safe from stragglers.
Rescuing a few precious items, the sisters burn down the house and then relocate to their new home, deep within the forest.

Review: For a film about two sisters, one Lycra clad and fashionable, the other boyish living in a glass house in a forest in the midst of a disaster of world wide proportions the film is lacking the sense of emergency and impending doom you would expect in this scenario.
(I intentionally tried my best to avoid spoilers, but please let me know if I didn't) I would have lost a bet if someone told me Ellen Page and Evan Rachel Wood were in a flick that sucked, but here you go.
Good performances for both, some great emotion, but the whole of the writing suffers from plausibility problems, almost like a freshman film student didn't have a mentor review her work before final submission.
That can be massaged by the writer to match her message as she sees fit (some of the messages are not all that great, but I'm a guy), but what is obviously lacking in the story is the amount of technical consult work that must be done to ensure any viewer that has a slight idea of how things work doesn't turn away from the film before the conclusion.
Before walking in, all I knew was that it starred Ellen Page and Evan Rachel Wood--actresses whom I thought were talented as is-- and that it was a "post-apocalyptic" film.
However, rather than zombies or nuclear fallout wiping out humankind, what I saw was an emotionally powerful story of how two sisters enter a new world while discarding an old one; through this process, I saw some of the most believable character arcs thanks to Page and Wood's incredible performances.
But if you want to instead see a film that makes you feel raw emotions and reflect as you watch the sisters' transformation in a time of adversity, then I can't recommend this film enough..
This movie tells us the story of building a new life without ordinary acquisitions of the modern world as well as the basic human needs such as safety, sheltering and hunger.
The movie wants us to ask ourselves some basic questions about the concepts of home, family and society.Cinematography and acting are also great.
Page and Ellen are perfect in their leading roles as well as the chemistry between them.This movie is not about saving humanity from a power disaster or an alien attack.
Evan Rachel Wood is also really good, she does her sensitive character a lot of justice and portrays a vividly brutal scene with real honesty.
The direction was good - the pace was tense and believable, the only slow part I didn't care for were some of the love scenes in the beginning, and the dance scenes were pretty dispensable, but all in all I really liked it!.
Listed as a drama and a sci-fi here but there are not very much sci-fi about it except for it taking place a couple years maybe into the future, but yeah no time traveling, aliens or robots or any of the sort so don't go into it expecting anything of that.It is a rather down to earth human drama with some scenes of suspense but mostly a drama about human endurance in hard times.Reading through some of the negative comments on the message-board I get the impression that people thought that this would be some sort of lesbian erotic drama (maybe because the only trivia currently listed is that Ellen Page does her first nude scene in it) but that is not the case, and the scene is not very explicit either.And some complain about animal cruelty, which is not even shown on screen, there is a quick scene where a animal gets visibly butchered but it's ridiculous to call it animal cruelty as the animal most likely suffered more humane treatment than the meat you buy in store and it was of course already dead.So those things are something I think are partly the reasons why there are quite a few negative reviews about it.Not saying that the movie is flawless but I think it was a well spent 95 minutes and one I will watch again sometime most likely..
It starts to stink pretty early on when it becomes apparent the editing or ad hoc screen writing started to jump around with implausible leaps.It's so bad, you'd rather the ending was "woke up and it was all a dream." Again, no spoilers, the plot has nothing to do with a dream or surreal adventure (though I wish it were so.) It's a stinker of a movie..
I'm normally a bit dim with movies, when it comes to what's going to happen next, but this is the most predictable film I have ever seen in my life.
Evan Rachel Wood and Ellen Page are sisters living in a post-apocalyptic word, with their father.
That said, I gave it 9/10 and think for those who watch it expecting a family drama set in a post-electricity world, the movie delivers well.
It was a well put together story.I noticed that a lot of reviewers gave this movie a low rate, but I give it 8/10, because when watching this movie, you have to imagine yourself in that situation, and how you would react in such case.I loved the Chemistry between Ellen Page & Evan Rachel Wood.
with just enough of a smattering of 'real behavior' for the writer to feel like she was 'true to life', but not nearly enough actual reality for the budget, cast, and story to make this a good film.Its a professional motion picture, with a marketable cast and is shot well enough, with a decent enough story not to be a complete bomb.
The situation is made far worse with the family in this picture as they live out in the woods a few miles away from the nearest town.I've seen a lot of post apocalyptic movies and this is my favorite one yet.
One day the lights go out and they never come back on, and in a secluded house lives two sisters and a dad, but not for long, accidents happen, and well, now its just the two girls, and its pretty boring...
Then it dawns on me(as I turn it off and hope minimal royalties are forwarded to this production).....this whole movie is like so many now adays, it is written, produced, acted by people who are not real.
The electrical grid fails, and all these people can find drama in the human condition is them bitching about not watching old home movies so they are not sad?!?!?!
It appears on that site under "Drama, Sci-Fi", and rightly so.For those versed in the meaning of spiritual parables, it is a symbolic rendering of coming to this world, experiencing being but a human, all to eventually bring new life here, after going through many forms of suffering, like losing one's contact with our original life force(electricity) and Source (the Father) by no longer enjoying His company, and destroying our original home.
And even though at first the human self consciousness is painful to us, like rape is to a woman, and the ego is forcing itself on our soul (that which reasons, remembers, and wills) the end result is Heaven on Earth.In that sense this movie is very valuable to those of us who have at least some "Back stage" memories and remember they voluntarily chose to be born into this world (which is like a virtual reality) and what the divine plan is..
It's about the relationship between two sisters, but the relationship doesn't feel like a real bond.The movie does a better job of showing a world without power.
The only thing I knew about this film apart from a brief synopsis, was that it was low budget.When I started watching this quiet, powerful little film, I realised it isn't about what happens as such, but rather how the two main characters evolve to cope.
I can understand why many people don't like this film, it's certainly not for everyone, but it is one that has made a real and heartfelt impact on me, and I think it will stay with me a long time..
dog food is dish of the day.Town nearby....so what.Sister gets raped by towns person who is clearly disturbed by this catastrophic power cut.NO I'M NOT making this up as I go.No sense/reason/explanation/plan/......absolutely nothing.OH BOY Its so bad!!!!
You see their story develop in that odd setting the end up in and it completely makes sense how the girls team up and learn to survive.
Power is not restored and the family has to cope with the new situation.This is an interesting movie that deals with the end of a world and its way of life.
And even though the movie ended up being more "art-house" and less "post-apocalyptic" than I was expecting, Into the Forest is a fascinating experience which definitely deserves an enthusiastic recommendation.
Like the title says, this is one of the best post apocalyptic movies I have seen.
A near future survival story with Evan Rachel Wood (Eva) and Ellen Page (Nell)?
Two sisters, Nell and Eva, are left orphaned after their dad succumbs to the injuries he received from a chainsaw accident, leaving them helpless at their house with no electricity.This is a story that tries to highlight the bond between the two sisters played by Ellen Page and Evan Rachel Wood who deliver terrific and above-average performances respectively.
Like using their last available bit of fuel to burn their house down during heavy downpour and deciding to take shelter in a tree stump instead (with an infant, mind you!) while they could have at least used the gasoline to warm themselves later on.Nevertheless, the movie does score high on performances and this is probably why one wouldn't want to write off the film altogether.
At first I thought it was going to be little interesting to see how they all survive, but as the movie goes on you find out the characters are the kind that would not survive any kind of apocalypse in the long term.
The movie might seem like it has a good ending, but in reality they wouldn't last a week with an infant without a decent shelter.
Deciding to burn the house down because of 'black mold' and then living in a tree stump while it's beating down rain (and winter is coming soon) is one of the stupidest things I've ever seen.
After "It Comes At Night" had absolutely nothing come at night, i'm getting sick of these moody post-apocalyptic dramas with titles that are completely wrong or misleading as to the actual content of the movie.the movie at the start is about a single father with two young adult daughters, Nell and Eva, living in a house out in the woods on the west coast.
At the end, suddenly the house is seeing huge pieces collapse due to black mold, and with Eva having a baby, she decides not only can she not live in the moldy house anymore but she wants to use the last of their gasoline to set it on fire and leave.I don't know how to handle a mold outbreak in a house, but in a post-apocalyptic setting where there's been no electricity in virtually the entire country for over a year, and no communication with the outside world beyond rumor, I think ditching and burning down a huge house that has gone 15 months without being raided or even discovered by potential bandits and looters is suicide.
She agrees that the best option, with her sister's baby just having been born, is to burn the house and go live inside a tree bark while it's raining and doesn't look like it's gonna stop?
Utter waste of time - this movie is one ridiculous scene after another, with pointless decisions which make no difference to the lives of the characters apart from make their situation worse, to the point that they start in a house and end up living in a tree stump.
as the movie starts to seem like a survival instructional video, then slides into a 'sisters 4eva!' girl power movie.Another very strange point...
No explanation for this very weird self destructing house (and those reading who are lazy on cleaning gutters, please rest easy - it takes YEARS of not cleaning them before the roof starts caving in...)I didn't score lower, because, despite the many flaws, the actors themselves are top notch and bring their A game, and the beautiful setting is magic to get absorbed in, you can almost smell the pine..
Heck, she could have danced outdoors if she really wanted to.The movie really didn't show the sisters working all that hard, so it was hard to figure out how they managed to grow enough food to eat for months at a time.
The whole movie happens in a beautiful house situated in a gorgeous, safe forest.
So at this point we find out that Evan Rachel Wood as Eva, is into ballet, and her sister is Ellen Page as Nell except they look nothing alike but okay ill believe you its a movie.
Suddenly the power-grid breaks down in all of US or just the era( I never quite could figure that out) Than their dad dies in a chainsaw accident.And this is when the movie main story really starts.The two girls have to fend for them self in the middle of the woods.Which is where the movie seem to struggle, in terms of what it wants to be.A lot of the scenes are just mere pointless,like several scenes focusing on the oldest sister dancing.There are no really point to these scenes,in terms of driving the movie forwards.There are a lot of plot holes here to.
Also, I would expect that when you have no electricity and no food most of the time would go to hunt for food.So in terms of survival The movie portray the life of the two girls as pretty easy.
Also, I would expect that when you have no electricity and no food most of the time would go to hunt for food.So in terms of survival The movie portray the life of the two girls as pretty easy.
The girls behaved in a way i believe we all would in the circumstances and find it hard to survive and we would make so silly choices and be unprepared, Music was good and enhanced the filmSo what was bad.This section could be quiet long but i will keep it short.The father died way to soon, a practical man somehow forgot to to tighten his chainsaw blade after using it to start his car and being shown to tinker with it afterwards The house falls apart in just over a year, i appreciate if water gets in a building will start to decay but this was very soon and unbelievable There was a short rape scene which not graphic and somehow pointless The birth soon was weird and for some reason we had to have a gratuitous double breast shot.
The sisters burnt the house down which appeared to burn in a very artistic way and with them not appearing to take anything very useful they wandered off into the forest to raise a child with no plan or it seems any idea what on earth they were going to do and the films ends..
I went into this blind, not knowing anything much about it and i have to admit i've come away not knowing much more about it after watching it.The premise sounded good enough - Massive power cut, two sisters left to fend for themselves in resulting Blackout.
They dance and study and eat all their food.The do start gathering late in the game but I had zero belief that these two would last 3 weeks in the woods much less months.After a long and very questionable series of bad decisions, they make the worst decision at the end.Anyway I would not recommend watching this unless you have 2 hours you just need to kill..
further scenes were dumped into this movie like a boyfriend trying to take one of the sisters away and, of course, a rape scene out of nowhere, which goes on forever!
Most parts of the movie were simply nonsensical and made no sense such as the death of father with a saw, giving birth to a child in such situation, burning the house down and living in a tree in winters and not going anywhere and the story of the lover.
We'll never know because that's where the movie ends.There are a couple of scenes that are quite moving, but set against such an absurd plot, I just wish I'd not wasted my time watching it..
If it were you that had directed this movie or indeed written the script, it wouldn't be that hard to actually do something a bit more:a) realistic (why would they burn down the house FFS) and b) a bit more hopeful.Overall, I'd say it could have been so much more a cliché but true!Acting was reasonable, location good and story line not unfeasible (though quite why the entire planet appears to have gone offline is never explained)..
'Into The Forest' is a post apocalyptic film about two sister learning to survive on their own in their cabin home.
There is also an element of unease that makes you nervous the entire time because we all know that people cannot be trusted.Page and Wood excel in this character piece about survival and loyalty, and will make you want to go home and hug your sister.
The movie starts with a dreadful whiny song in the background and some pretentious dancing of one of the characters.Then power goes out, people do stuff.Then idiot dad gets himself killed while cutting wood.Then the girls argue.
Unfortunately this happened way too many times for this movie to be salvageable.Spoilers ahead!.....From the very 1st drops of water falling from the ceiling in the living room any thinking person would be like "hum, we better see what we can do about that before the roof caves in".