Movie Review - The Forest

The Forest ** (out of 5) (PG-13) Natalie Dormer plays a pair of twins, primarily as the more responsible Sarah, who flies to Japan to rescue her sister, Jess. The latter disappeared while taking her students on a field trip into reputedly haunted woods. Evil spirits are believed to be so pervasive that many choose that locale for suicides. Everyone assumes Jess did the same, but Sarah’s tingling twin senses tell her otherwise.

A professional local guide and a hunky American writer (Taylor Kinney) lead her through the spots Jess seemed most likely to have covered. Everyone warns against staying in that forest after dark, so our intrepid heroine naturally must. Apparitions pop up with messages that may, or may not, be helpful to her quest and/or chances of survival. Some moments are scary, but more remain confusing. Horror fare that stays within PG-13 constraints usually feel like they’re pulling some punches. In this case, the suspense that builds rather nicely in the early going fizzles while the last 30 minutes of plot and action disintegrate into relatively random and incoherent developments.

The film’s best asset is Dormer, a Brit who is most likely known here from steamy contributions to premium cable series, The Tudors and Game of Thrones. This time we see more of her face and much less of her other attributes. But that splendid face conveys just the right balance of intelligence and emotional range to make Sarah a worthy protagonist, and for Jess to look like a much different character even apart from the changed hair color. Dormer’s career should benefit more from this role than the director’s or writers’. Rightly so. She’s the one who carried those on the other side of the cameras while their beasties went bump in the night. (1/8/16)