Review of The Forest (2016) by Alexis J — 12 Apr 2016

You would think that a horror film inspired by the hundreds, maybe even thousands, of suicides that have taken place in Aokigahara forest in Japan would end up being better than this. Or at least have some sort of creepily atmospheric moments.

But, nope, this movie, as can be expected, relies on way too much on jump scares. My complaints with jump scares will always be the same, the fact that just anyone can pull it off. It takes no skill. All it takes is a screamer.

That's why screamers, for a short while, were so popular online, because they were completely unexpected and they featured a sudden scary image with a really loud scream. That takes no fucking skill whatsoever.

Real horror comes from building tension that leads to unease that then leads to dread before it pays off in the climax with whatever you want your climax to be like. And this movie makes use of jump scares.

The thing is, however, that there aren't as many of them as one would expect. I just think that they think that the jump scares are a complement to what they feel is the real horror of the film. Which is perplexing to me, because I don't even know what the people involved in the conceptualizing and writing of this film actually thought what would be scary to a mainstream audience, because there's just nothing here.

You know how many horror films have audience reaction as part of their trailers. Well, with this one, it would've been near impossible to get the desired reaction. The horror really is lacking here.

Another part, as probably as big a part, if not bigger, is the fact that Sara, the lead character, is just an unlikable dick sometimes. Just the way how she comes across like she's above the whole thing and looking down on the whole superstition regarding the forest itself.

So that makes rooting for her a bit difficult, when she's kind of a complete asshole to everyone she comes across. I understand, to a point, I mean we're talking about her sister here, but the way she acts makes you not really care about her or want to see her get her comeuppance from one of the ghosts.

Natalie Dormer does a fine job here, but it's not like she's good enough to overcome the character's flaws. The film has its moments, I like the whole concept of how going into the forest with sadness in your heart makes you more susceptible to be 'manipulated', as it were, by these ghosts.

But that might also be something that's drawn from the actual culture and not necessarily something the screenwriters came up with on their own. Even with that, though, I still like that whole concept and I just wish the movie played more with that instead of relying on old and tired horror tropes.

This is a really bad movie, can't really say anything other than that. As if it wasn't obvious, you really don't have to watch this. You can if you want to, but it's not gonna be an enjoyable experience.