The Forest (2016)

A woman goes into Japan's Suicide Forest to find her twin sister, and confronts supernatural terror.

Director:

Jason Zada

Writers:

Nick Antosca, Sarah Cornwell

Stars:

Natalie Dormer, Eoin Macken, Stephanie Vogt

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Natalie Dormer	...	Sara / Jess Price
Eoin Macken	...	Rob
Stephanie Vogt	...	Valerie
Osamu Tanpopo	...	Homeless Man (as Tanpopo Osamu)
Yasuo Tobishima	...	Sushi Chef
Ibuki Kaneda	...	Mei (Schoolgirl)
Akiko Iwase	...	Head Teacher
Kikuo Ichikawa	...	Businessman
Noriko Sakura	...	Mayumi
Jozef Aoki	...	Visitor Center Morgue Man
Yûho Yamashita	...	Sakura (as Yuho Yamashita)
Taylor Kinney	...	Aiden
Gen Seto	...	Narusawa Bartender
Terry Diab	...	Grandma
Nadja Mazalica	...	Sara / Jess (Age 6)

Storyline

The majority of the story is set in and around the Aokigahara Forest, a forest at the northwest base of Mount Fuji in Japan known as a popular destination for suicide. 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 Price (also Dormer) is dead, as she was seen going into Aokigahara forest. Despite the concerns of her fiance, Rob, she journeys to Japan and arrives at the hotel where her sister was staying. At her hotel, Sara meets a reporter named Aiden. They drink together, and she tells him of her parents' death. In reality, her father killed her mother, then committed suicide, but she tells him they were killed by a drunk driver. Her sister saw the bodies, but she didn't look. Aiden invites her to go into the forest with him and a park guide, Michi, so she can look for her sister..

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Plot Keywords:

japan | forest | suicide | ghost | british actress playing american character | 

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Taglines:

Where fear grows.

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

14A

Did You Know?

Trivia

In order to differentiate the twin sisters, Natalie Dormer had to dye her hair black while playing Jess and keep blonde hair as Sara. This was also to insert yin-yang symbolism; Sara was always the more innocent and pure sister, hence her blonde hair, while Jess was always more psychologically troubled and sad, hence her black hair.

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Goofs

During their first excursion into the forest with Sara, Aiden & Michi remove a decaying dead body hanging from a tree. As Michi cuts the rope, Aiden takes the body in a "Fireman's Carry" across his shoulders and lowers it to the ground.

The chances of this happening in real life are extremely unlikely. Even an inexperienced person like Aiden would know better than to make close, direct physical contact with a putrefying corpse, which is undoubtedly swarming with bacteria and insects- as well as leaking any number of bacteria laden bodily fluids- creating a highly unsanitary situation.

Furthermore- immediately after having the corpse directly across his shoulders- Aiden continues his hike in close proximity to his companions. Not only does his light color T-Shirt show no sign of bodily fluids or rotting flesh, in real life the smell of the decaying body on Aiden's clothing and skin would be so overwhelming as to be unbearable, not only to him but to those around him (that's why those who work around crime scenes, dead bodies, etc., wear special disposable bio suits and sometimes must even dispose of their street clothing if it is saturated with the odor of decaying tissue- the smell is that bad).

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Quotes

[first lines]
Jess: [running scared through a forest] Oh, God, Help me! Somebody help! Help me!

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Connections

References Grave Halloween (2013)

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Soundtracks

Tokyo Rocks
Written by Jimmy Kaleth (as James Kaleth), Bob Mitchell and Jez Pike
Courtesy of Sonic Quiver
Under license from 5 Alarm Music

User Reviews

Very enjoyable movie, great scares and great acting!

this was a hit movie for me the best i've seen so far coming from the horror genre, the location in the movie is based on true facts and history in japan based on the forest. This movie had its scares and was very scary for some of the audience, also the environment was so vast and large and beautiful for such a dark and thrilling movie! The acting was very well done for the main actors and also had myself on the edge of my seat about the main characters sister even though they were searching for her. I highly recommend this movie for people who like dark thrilling horror films with a twist. I give this movie a 8 out of 10 it was short but enough time to keep the story from dragging.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Japanese

Release Date:

8 January 2016 (Canada)

Also Known As:

La forêt

Filming Locations:

Tara National Forest, Serbia

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$12,741,176, 10 January 2016

Gross USA:

$26,594,261

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$39,712,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

DragonCove Studios, Gramercy Pictures (I), Lava Bear Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1