INTO THE FOREST documents the efforts of yet another paranormal ghost hunting team that wants to make it big on television as they enter a forest infamous for having a large number of people disappearing in it.
Yes, this is a low budget found footage movie featuring not so great acting, a well-worn concept if not a nonsensical story, and poor makeup effects. However, at 67 minutes, the movie is short, and the film-makers used this to tighten the story. That, in turn helped create and build tension.
The main characters are not as unlikable as in many comparable found footage movies, yet the actor who plays the father of the missing girl steals the show. His performance contributes to one of the most tense scenes in the movie, and yet that scene is only about midway through.
The apparently made-up mythology features an evil woman who decades ago kidnapped 13 kids and then killed everybody, including herself. I was amused when they said that a copy of the Codex Gigas ("Large Book"), also known as the Devil's Bible because of an unusually detailed portrait of the devil, was at that site and then presented what looked like a small booklet or leaflet to the camera. The Codex is a gigantic book, 36 inches long and 165 pounds heavy.
The ending was conventional and the final reveal a letdown, but in its place, this movie avoided a common bane of found footage horror movies, namely a slow pace and humdrum progression until things pick up toward the end, and I believe that counts for something.
