A young woman's desperate search for her twin sister brings her to a ghost-filled stretch of wilderness known as the 'Suicide Forest.'A young woman's desperate search for her twin sister brings her to a ghost-filled stretch of wilderness known as the 'Suicide Forest.'A young woman's desperate search for her twin sister brings her to a ghost-filled stretch of wilderness known as the 'Suicide Forest.'
- Director
- Writers
- Stars
- Awards
- 1 win & 1 nomination total
Osamu Tanpopo
- Homeless Man
- (as Tanpopo Osamu)
Yûho Yamashita
- Sakura
- (as Yuho Yamashita)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
Natalie Dormer plays a woman who is searching for her twin sister(also Dormer) who has gone missing in Japan, last seen in a forest where everybody seems to die, but she is determined to find her no matter what, but will she find her, or will the forest drive her insane?
The film does have some good scares, and Natalie Dormer does give it her all here. But the story itself feels to cut down, and actors like Taylor Kinney who play it so bland, he just does not have much to work with. The movie tries to hard and it shows, the ending does not leave much to be explained. All in all, it could have been better. Just don't leave much to enjoy all of it.
The film does have some good scares, and Natalie Dormer does give it her all here. But the story itself feels to cut down, and actors like Taylor Kinney who play it so bland, he just does not have much to work with. The movie tries to hard and it shows, the ending does not leave much to be explained. All in all, it could have been better. Just don't leave much to enjoy all of it.
As far as horror movies goes this one is not bad..The theme of the suicide forest is intriguing.The stranger in a strange land them works well here.the film avoids most of the horror clichés.
It has plenty of creepy moments and you'll jump a few times.The production is high and Natalie Dormer gives a good twist on the scream queen ..Her character is not dumb repeating cliché lines and behavior..The questions that run though your head her character answers.The film has a dark ending and is not fairy tale at all..I don't understand why its so poorly rated its not that bad...its a good scary movie.....
It has plenty of creepy moments and you'll jump a few times.The production is high and Natalie Dormer gives a good twist on the scream queen ..Her character is not dumb repeating cliché lines and behavior..The questions that run though your head her character answers.The film has a dark ending and is not fairy tale at all..I don't understand why its so poorly rated its not that bad...its a good scary movie.....
As a whole the movie works and is very satisfying. It's like a joke that seems to have a weak set up that's made up for with a hilarious punchline, but waiting for the punchline to come in a feature film can be dull.
It's not like pulling teeth dull or anything like that, It is a good story. It really does not hurt that Natalie Dormer is fun to look at for an hour or two as she plays a woman looking for her twin sister who entered a forest in Japan known to attract those who want to commit suicide and never comes out. For those of you not into Dormer, Taylor Kinney is in it as well as a reporter trying to help, but has his own agenda. If you you don't like either actor that will be a problem cause for the most part it's the two of them in the woods for the majority of the film.
It's not as scary or frightening as I hoped for. The disturbing images did the trick, but it did not get my heart jumping like I expected, but it feels like the overall story is what is supposed to haunt you. I get it but I'm not all that impressed.
It's not like pulling teeth dull or anything like that, It is a good story. It really does not hurt that Natalie Dormer is fun to look at for an hour or two as she plays a woman looking for her twin sister who entered a forest in Japan known to attract those who want to commit suicide and never comes out. For those of you not into Dormer, Taylor Kinney is in it as well as a reporter trying to help, but has his own agenda. If you you don't like either actor that will be a problem cause for the most part it's the two of them in the woods for the majority of the film.
It's not as scary or frightening as I hoped for. The disturbing images did the trick, but it did not get my heart jumping like I expected, but it feels like the overall story is what is supposed to haunt you. I get it but I'm not all that impressed.
Aokigahara, otherwise known as Suicide Forest, literally writes its own stories. It's a place where people go to end their lives, a real life horror vista which has haunted many documentaries and videos. As creepy as the setting is, The Forest is still trapped on archaic horror gimmicks. It doesn't mean it has no merit, few of its moments are quite delightful, yet it spends most of the time wandering across predictable set-ups and mundane scares.
Sara (Natalie Dormer) goes to Japan to find her missing twin sister Jess (also Natalie Dormer). The search leads her to Aokigahara, the infamous forest. Unfazed by this revelation, Sara is still determined to search for her, almost stubbornly so. Natalie Dormer of Game of Thrones' fame is definitely a draw as this is a different genre than her other works. She does put in the effort, her strong motivation persists although the character is stuck on typical scream queen stereotype.
It's insane how many times her character randomly strolls to dark corners or investigates weird occurrence alone even though ample warnings have been given. These are actions common sense would dictate as unwise, especially on a place called Suicide Forest, yet she performs them blindly anyway. It's pretty over saturated that the excuse of her being in trance because hypnotic forest made her do it is not sufficient anymore.
There are some good moments that are chilling and well presented, it even occasionally ventures to psychological perspective of the ordeal. However, the movie usually returns to average scares of oriental horror such as vague ominous warning or lost girl in peculiar outfit. It's a rigid showcase of horror, one that's been used since the days of Ju-On and arguably even before that.
While the draw of exotic location and appealing lead actress might interest visitors, they would only find basic horror in The Forest.
Sara (Natalie Dormer) goes to Japan to find her missing twin sister Jess (also Natalie Dormer). The search leads her to Aokigahara, the infamous forest. Unfazed by this revelation, Sara is still determined to search for her, almost stubbornly so. Natalie Dormer of Game of Thrones' fame is definitely a draw as this is a different genre than her other works. She does put in the effort, her strong motivation persists although the character is stuck on typical scream queen stereotype.
It's insane how many times her character randomly strolls to dark corners or investigates weird occurrence alone even though ample warnings have been given. These are actions common sense would dictate as unwise, especially on a place called Suicide Forest, yet she performs them blindly anyway. It's pretty over saturated that the excuse of her being in trance because hypnotic forest made her do it is not sufficient anymore.
There are some good moments that are chilling and well presented, it even occasionally ventures to psychological perspective of the ordeal. However, the movie usually returns to average scares of oriental horror such as vague ominous warning or lost girl in peculiar outfit. It's a rigid showcase of horror, one that's been used since the days of Ju-On and arguably even before that.
While the draw of exotic location and appealing lead actress might interest visitors, they would only find basic horror in The Forest.
5.5 I would say is right on the money. Not academy material but good for a couple of jump scares. Just saw the movie tonight. First jump scare was so good lady next to me spilled her full bag of popcorn and tipped over her drink...we laughed and laughed...then the usher came.
I had the movie pegged to go in another direction but I guess the joke was on me, and everyone I was with thought the movie was going in the same direction I thought, so it was pleasant surprise that it was not that predictable.
Overall 5.5 is good, watchable, scary enough. More psychological than it was Horror or Terror.
It was a little light on the Horror, and there was 1 single plot line, but still enjoyed it.
I had the movie pegged to go in another direction but I guess the joke was on me, and everyone I was with thought the movie was going in the same direction I thought, so it was pleasant surprise that it was not that predictable.
Overall 5.5 is good, watchable, scary enough. More psychological than it was Horror or Terror.
It was a little light on the Horror, and there was 1 single plot line, but still enjoyed it.
Did you know
- TriviaNatalie Dormer actually went to the Suicide Forest with her Japanese driver for research. She ventured five meters off the path to take photos and her Japanese driver would not step half an inch over the path.
- GoofsDuring 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).
- ConnectionsFeatured in Monster Vision: A History and Analysis of Horror Cinema (2016)
- SoundtracksJapan
Written by Alex Banks and Hannah Thomas
Courtesy of Cavendish Music
Under license from 5 Alarm Music
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Khu Rừng Tự Sát
- Filming locations
- Tara National Forest, Serbia(the forest scenes)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $10,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $26,594,261
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $12,741,176
- Jan 10, 2016
- Gross worldwide
- $39,712,000
- Runtime
- 1h 33m(93 min)
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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