The Forest

Situated at the base of Mt. Fuji, the Aokigahara Forest is Japan's most notorious suicide site. Filmmaker Jason Zada uses this aptly named “Sea of Trees” as the folkloric centerpiece for this wannabe horror story. The story begins with Sara Price (Natalie Dormer) discovering that her willful, self-destructive twin sister Jess has disappeared in rural Japan, where she moved to teach English. Sara embarks on a search for her sibling, and after arriving in the Aokigahara region she meets Aiden (Taylor Kinney), an expat American travel writer who offers to let her accompany both him and a knowledgeable (but timid) park ranger named Michi (Yukiyoshi Ozawa) into the fabled forest where Jess was last seen on a class field trip. Zada utilizes familiar jump scare tactics—along with spooky sounds and eerie, ominous music—but fails to achieve the necessary suspense required to sustain audience interest. Not a necessary purchase. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by director Jason Zada, a “making-of” featurette (8 min.), stills galleries, and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are bonus DVD, digital, and UltraViolet copies of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a disappointing horror flick.] (S. Granger)