The Forest- my take on the movie with spoilers

PLOT SUMMARY: When Sara learns her twin ventured into the Suicide Forest, she goes in search of her and puts herself in supernatural danger. 

Relationships can be complicated and it’s not always easy to write them out. We all have a different equation with our families, friends and the people we meet, so to write your version of relationships may not always be agreeable to the audience. They may view relationships a bit differently and would be stunned when the plot deters from perspective.

This is what happened to me when I watched ‘The Forest’. The story is about two women who are twins- Sara and Jess, one of whom is seriously troubled. For two sisters, who are that close, I began to wonder how one of them left her sister alone, knowing well that she was suicidal.

That’s the thing about relationships- some view the very words as a definition of togetherness, others believe in giving complete independence as a sign of respect to the individual. Had Sara kept an eye on Jess, she would have never disappeared and the circumstances that happened would not have happened.

THE FOREST Movie Plot 

The story centres around the Aokigahara Forest in Japan- a destination notorious because people venture into it to commit suicide. Sara receives a call one day from Japan and is told her sister may be dead as she too had gone to the Forest. Packing up her bags and ignoring her boyfriend’s advice, she heads out to Japan to search for her missing story.

Over here, I have to mention that I loved the pace set for the first part. Within minutes, we were given a background of the sisters, Sara’s life with her boyfriend, her trip to Japan and a failed call to her sister. In a matter of minutes, the story was set and I readied myself for the inevitable horror part.

The film does excellently in the first half, setting up characters and pace and once you learn about the forests and the ghosts that supposedly lurk there, you ready yourself for a thrilling ride.

Except the film falters a bit in the second part. A night in a creepy forest where people go to commit suicides should have been scary, instead, we are shown a scene where Sara bonds with a photographer- Aiden- who is intrigued by her mystery.

In the third part, Sara encounters the spirits of the forest who prey on her because apparently, her guide tells her that she is “too sad”. Of course, Sara is disturbed and sad. Her father apparently killed his wife and then kills himself and unfortunately the twins were too young when they had to witness that event.

This explains Jess’ spiralling condition into depression and though Sara feels like she was unaffected, apparently turning away from the bloodied bodies of her parents, didn’t shield her from the trauma that was hidden deep within her.

THE FOREST Ending Explained with Spoilers! 

The Forest now wants her and she becomes susceptible to the hallucinations that slowly drive her insane. Suddenly, she can’t trust anyone. Not even Aiden with whom she had been forming a sympathetic relationship.

One minute, she believes him to be behind her sister’s disappearance, the next she is calling for him to rescue him when she has fallen into a pit.

Her madness continues when she hears her sister’s voice in a cabin, begging her to free her as Aiden had kidnapped her. Sara, in a stupor, attacks and kills Aiden only to realize later on that her mind had been played on.

She is attacked with more memories from her past and hallucinates that her father is attacking her. Sara cuts off his fingers and flees. She sees her sister in the forest and calls out to her, but Jess, who had just been lost, doesn’t hear her and runs to the lights.

The search party has come for her- including Sara’s boyfriend- but eventually, it is not Sara they save.

Sara, who is still in the forest, realizes her mind had been played with and that she had actually cut her wrists while struggling with her father’s spirit.

She bleeds to death slowly and the spirit of the forest takes her away.

At the beginning of the movie, we see Sara using her twin telepathy to find out whether her sister is alive or not. She could feel her sister so she knew she was alive. So it was absolutely heartbreaking when Jess tells Sara’s boyfriend that she can’t feel her sister anymore.

Nothing- she couldn’t feel anything.

That’s the thing about relationships. You could be that close to feeling every bit of pain the other is feeling and stay by their side. Or you could leave them alone to deal with their own demons.

Sara’s boyfriend should have never let her go. He should have accompanied her if she wanted to. Jess should have told her sister that she was depressed. Sara should have kept tabs on her sister. Aiden should have never stayed back with Sara- he had just met her. Sara should have gone to therapy and realized that her parents’ deaths had affected her.

Sara and Jess- their bond could have saved them both. Instead, their lack of communication and neglect to confront their tragic pasts led them to make choices that took the life of one.

The Forest is a horror movie- it’s a story that throws you into a deep pit of darkness and makes you wonder if it is scarier to be lost in your own minds or a place cursed with death.  

Scare Scale: 3/5