The Forest

I got to watch an advanced screening of this movie, and I was anxious (just because the last movie I watched was that recent remake of "Nightmare on Elm Street" which seriously was lame.) I won't get into the actual details of the plot, but it was more than just a "hey here's a random thing going around killing people with no good reason" type of plot, which always bug the CRAP out of me. The characters had motives, and there was this extreme tension throughout the movie (I won't say why, but it was very intense!) Overall it was like my favorite types of horror movies, which focus on the psychological/tension type of horror, rather than the let's-see-how-much-blood-this-dead-body-can-spew type. It's the kind that you think about days after. And even more freaky that the forest is a real place! Freaky deaky! Anyway, I plan on seeing it again.

After seeing this, I'm dying to go see the forest in person. Did some googling and its 100% real. Search at your own risk- I had a hard time sleeping the night I did. Actually, if you're looking for a good scare, do it by yourself at like 1am. You're welcome.

I totally wasn't expecting what I saw with this movie. The characters are much more fleshed-out than some of the horror films I've seen in the past 5 years, and there's actually an interesting and ENGAGING plot.

Some excellent scares throughout, especially the last 30 minutes. The whole audience was reacting to the screen, and one guy even said exactly what I was feeling: "Oh, shhhhi-."

Quite by good luck I saw this film as a reviewer tester.

Never been a reviewer before or an avid horror fan.

Anyhow, as a fan of suspense films I enjoyed this one, savoring the predicaments, and its exceptional climax.

It's set and filmed on location in a really weird forest in Japan: not only is the forest weird - looks like tangled trees above tangled undergrowth, all springing from awfully jumbled earth, but also its reputation in Japanese myth or legend.

The basic idea is very well spun out by the author and the actors' performances reflect knowledgeable , dedicated direction.

Would not recommend this for children under 15. There is some nudity but there is also exceptionally graphic violence. Even later teen years, I'd suggest chaperoning.

It appears the other viewers of this movie must have watched a different movie then I did. I actually bought the DVD on the strength of the other reviews, what a mistake that was. The acting was extremely bad, the sound was variable through out, over all quality was terrible and the film was extremely boring with nothing to hold the attention. The characters were banal and one dimensional you did not care about anyone as they were instantly forgettable.I managed to sit through half the DVD before I switched it off and put DVD in the garbage. I was really disappointed as I expected this to be a real scary one. Nothing to scare you here, you wont be scared to go down to the forest after this travesty !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is an excellent horror film. It gives me hope in horror films because I've been disappointed so many times with typically cheesy dialogue and bad acting. The Visible Dark is the opposite - the film is of high quality in all aspects from story line, writing, cinematography, and an awesome performance by Michael Madsen and writer/director Shan Serafin. Having the story based in Japan around actual Japanese cultural beliefs about life and death made the story unique and interested enough to do research outside of watching this film. The story keeps my interest all the way through, is grippingly suspenseful, has plenty of comedy relief, and has several classically horrific moments that would make you cover your face with just enough room to watch with one eye. This film is worth watching if you're a critic of horror.