825 Forest Road

This one won't be for everyone. It's a quiet, deliberately paced supernatural thriller that focuses more on mood and mystery than scares. But if you're into slow-burn horror, it absolutely delivers on atmosphere.

There's a found footage feel to parts of it, and the way the story unfolds-through interviews, old recordings, and subtle clues-makes it feel more like a haunted documentary than a traditional narrative. It gets under your skin gradually.

The last act really pays off, and while I wouldn't call it terrifying, it leaves a chill that lingers. Think Lake Mungo meets Hell House LLC, but more subdued. Worth checking out if you like your horror low-key and creepy.

I recently watched 825 Forest Road (2025) on Shudder. The story follows a family searching for a fresh start who move into a new house in a small town. Unfortunately, the town-and the house-have a dark history that threatens to make their new beginning anything but refreshing.

The film is written and directed by Stephen Cognetti (Hell House LLC) and stars Elizabeth Vermilyea (Hell House LLC: Lineage), Kathryn Miller (Nefarious), Joe Bandelli (Hell House LLC), and Brian Anthony Wilson (Law Abiding Citizen).

This is one of those horror films that focuses more on building a backstory and explaining why things are happening rather than showing them unfold on screen. I found myself wanting more horror scenes-it felt slow at times and bordered on boring. That said, when the horror finally kicks in, the effects are well done. There are solid practical effects, effective makeup to enhance the haunted visuals, and a couple of decent jump scares.

Still, it's the kind of film where you might find yourself checking your phone regularly, waiting for something to happen.

In conclusion, 825 Forest Road has a few redeeming elements, but ultimately it doesn't do enough to stand out in the haunted house subgenre. I'd give it a 5/10.

825 Forest Road could have been a great horror movie with a few more script re-writes. There are a handful of great scares, and interesting relationships between the three main characters. You can expect that the creators of Hell House made the most out of the mannequin in this film. Unfortunately, the script also suffers from some significant flaws. For instance, there are only about four characters in the story who actually matter. Many of the side characters could have easily been written out of the story. The Gardening Club, realtor, and the opening scene characters didn't serve a relevant purpose. There are also often times when the writing makes basic story elements confusing. As an example, It took me awhile to realize that Ashley and Isabel were different characters. Finally and most importantly, the ending leaves a lot to be desired. Despite these flaws, I would recommend watching 825 Forest Road. Just don't expect the next Shining, or even the next Insidious.

It begins well with a suitably creepy opening with a zoom call between two girls, there is an ambient ' Silent Hill' small town vibe (and the town looks lush) which always appeals to me in any horror film.

Rather than the usual blood/gore this acts as a quiet sometimes reflective horror about dark past secrets. It reminded me of Ti West's ' The Innkeepers' and John Irvin's Ghost Story.

It has a few effective creepy scenes-the piano scene being one of them.

What lets it down is I couldn't take the character ' Isabel' looking way older than she is. She clearly looks mid 20s tops, so when he brother asks her how she is getting on at school I just laughed.

The scares, although well done, were signposted way too soon. The creepy doll (Mia lookalike!!) was put into frame once the camera panned either left or right and a movement by the ghost in the background was an ill judged piece of mis-direction.

The various POVs were unsubtle and added nothing to proceedings as a whole and the ' teenage' love interest was the usual tedious ' tick box' exercise so prevalent in movies nowadays- and they had zero chemistry.

It's one of those films that could have been better and shows how old I've become in seeing where and when the scares come along; however if either Elsie and Molly want a old fashioned ghost story I would recommend.

I can see why this movie is somewhat divisive. There ARE indeed some good elements in it like one reviewer stated in his/her title.

I would say what really props up this movie at all is the tense atmosphere. The acting overall is decent, not as cringeworthy as many of these modern day Horror films.

I personally like the approach when you have this small, rural town where everyone knows something is not right. That aspect I thought was done very well.

I just don't feel that there was quite enough substance and weight truly to carry the story as well as it should have been. There were definitely instances of genuine creepiness, but perhaps if the writing/plot could have been thought out a bit more thoroughly, I think it really could have been a lot better.

Yes, many good elements are there, but I think maybe a bit more skill was needed to bring it together and really make it much more strongly effective and powerful to the audience.

I was torn between giving it a '5' or a '6', but in considering the sum of everything, I ended up with a '5' So, there is some entertainment value here, but ultimately I honestly feel it is a bit too flawed to be called really good.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MY PARTICULAR WAY OF RATING:

5 - Flawed, but with some entertainment value.

6. A decently passable story maybe worth a watch.

7. A solid film, well made, effective, and entertaining.

And, obviously, you can probably figure out what above and below these would mean... : )