‘The Forest’ – Film Review

A spooky supernatural horror set in Japan sends its Game of Thrones star barking up the wrong tree

This supernatural horror unfolds in Japan’s Aokigahara Forest, a notorious suicide destination that’s said to contain “yurei”, or ghosts. When seemingly grounded Sara Price is told her flaky identical twin Jess is missing there and presumed dead, she’s convinced local authorities are wrong and flies to Japan to find her.

Despite warnings from locals who believe the forest’s mystical properties will prey on her insecurities, Sara ventures in with a shifty Australian journalist (Zero Dark Thirty’s Taylor Kinney) and starts to experience terrifying ghostly visions that hark back to an unresolved childhood trauma.

Playing both sisters, Natalie Dormer gives a compelling dual performance but she’s saddled by the script’s simplistic dialogue, which is often as wooden as the forest itself. You can’t blame Dormer for wanting to branch out from Game Of Thrones and The Hunger Games, but she’s barking up the wrong tree with this one.

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