When her twin sister disappears in Japan's Aokigahara forest, where people go to end their lives, a young American named Sara becomes determined to find out what happened to her, only to confront supernatural terror.
1955, Kanagawa, Japan
12 August 1975, Kearney, Nebraska, USA
August 20, 2008 in Japan
11 February 1982, Reading, Berkshire, England, UK
5 October 1963, Hiroshima, Japan
15 July 1981, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA
December 31, 2016
Alas, there's no real sense of tension as the story (credited to three writers) lurches toward a by-the-numbers ending.
January 14, 2016
Pretty bad, even for a January release.
January 14, 2016
"The Forest" delivers as a healthy dose of psychological cinematic terror and an impressive first feature directing effort.
February 22, 2016
The silly, hand-me-down scares just don't chill.
January 10, 2016
Any compelling sense of unease is ultimately undone as the film gradually settles for tedious schlock.
August 02, 2016
Disturbingly manipulative and yet totally conventional, The Forest is more memorable for being opportunistic than for being truly frightening.
July 26, 2016
The eminently watchable Natalie Dormer is front and centre in the new psychological horror from first-time director Jason Zada, but you can't help but think that the actress deserved better.
November 11, 2016
There's absolutely nothing to it.
December 05, 2016
The Forest plunders the J-horror vocabulary to muster what jumps it can, and is pretty nice to look at. But only the really good horror films know how to end on a high note, and this isn't one of them.
January 21, 2016
With no compelling characters, scares, or plot points to redeem The Forest, the best option for those curious about Aokigahara is probably to watch a 20-minute 2005 VICE documentary about it.
January 08, 2016
The Forest boasts a promising premise but squanders most of its goodwill as a result of narrative shortcuts and contrivances, horror film clichés, and haphazard editing.
