The Forest (2016)

January is here! That means we get the annual January horror release! Wait...is this good news? Usually not. January is notorious for terrible studio horror films. The last three years we got: "Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3D" (2013), "Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones" (2014), and "Sinister 2" (2015). That being said, I really went into "The Forest" with an open mind. I love the premise... or more accurately the setting of the movie. It has a decent lead actress in Natalie Dormer who is best known for her roles in "The Tudors" and "Game of Thrones." This movie has all of the potential to break the January curse right? Not exactly, as it turns out.

Straight from IMDB here is the quick synopsis for the movie: "A woman goes into Japan's Suicide Forest to find her twin sister, and confronts supernatural terror." Really that says enough right there. I see no reason to go any further on this posting. That's the movie.

The Grade: C- (Very Average, Nothing special beyond the setting)

The Good:

I can't make any huge complaints about this movie. It had good cinematography. They really made the forest into this amazing ocean of trees that you really feel like you can get lost in. I really did feel that the setting and the filming of the setting was terrific. The performance by Natalie Dormer was solid enough. I would also say that the movie does a good job of making you keep guessing what is real and what is not. A lot of messing with our leading ladies mind and therefore the mind of the viewer.

The Bad:

Jump scares galore! This movie suffers from the "too many jump scares" curse that is going around mainly in studio horror films. Characters jumping out and saying "HEY!" for no good reason. The camera coming in close to allow for a surprise that we all see coming. Of course, you have the scenes that go quiet and then something very loud happens! That is not horror people! That is a sound! It makes people jump, but it's annoying! My chief complaint is also just the fact that I did not find myself caring about what will happen to our main character(s). Before anyone can accuse me of being jaded, let me tell you this...I just watched an episode of "Criminal Minds" on Netflix and I cared more about a woman victim that had about 10 seconds of screen time! I just watched "Mad Max: Fury Road" and found myself caring about the characters. I have a heart people! This movie did not appeal to my heart. I just didn't feel that tension of "Oh my god, I hope she gets out and finds her sister!"

The Ugly:

No spoilers, but there is a final scene that is just stupid and cheap and pisses me off! I am tired of the trope that is: "Lets do one final thing at the credits just to say good night folks!" So they give you some stupid last jump scare just for kicks. I laughed the first couple times, but after a while it's just not funny! It's not cute! It's frankly annoying and takes away any somber ending you might have been feeling at that point.

In Conclusion:

In conclusion, "The Forest" is just about as average a horror movie as it gets. I don't have any major complaints. It was competently shot and acted, but just didn't make me "feel it." I'd say it's the strongest January opener in a while, but it is still just average. Personally, it's a Netflix streamer for me when it's all said and done.

#Supernatural