The Forest (1982)

Directed by Don Jones [Other horror films: Schoolgirls in Chains (1973), The Love Butcher (1975), Molly and the Ghost (1991)]

While in some aspects The Forest is an interesting ride, I personally found a lot of the movie somewhat tedious, and though I know it has it’s fans, I can’t say I’m one of them.

The story here was somewhat atypical in it’s approach – we have four characters (two married couples) and they go camping in a forest, but they go separately, with the women going first, and the men planning to meet up with them later. Well, I know what I was expecting, but I’ll just say things don’t necessarily go as planned.

What threw me off more than anything is the addition of ghost children. There’s also a ghost woman, but she only gets three scenes or so, whereas the ghost children actively take part in the story, helping people escape the crazed knife of their cannibalistic father. I would have been okay with the kids had they been some sort mental breakdown the father was having, and only he could see them, but like I said, these ghost kids actively help characters out, and it’s just so damn stupid.

The slasher aspect of the film isn’t near as good as even the opening might lead you to believe. There is an okay scene toward the finale, but most of the movie is rather tedious, and aside from the beautiful setting (this was filmed, in fact, in Sequoia National Park), it’s not an easy movie to recommend.

I thought Dean Russell was decent. At least he had that moustached, macho man look I appreciate from the 1980’s. John Batis’ character was a sexist piece of shit (in fact, he was a “proud chauvinist”), so I couldn’t care for him. Neither Tomi Barrett nor Ann Wilkinson did much for me, and as the killer, I just couldn’t get into Gary Kent (of classics such as Satan’s Sadists and Sinthia: The Devil’s Doll).

Worth mentioning, though, are two okay songs that pop up, one titled ‘The Dark Side of the Forest,’ sung by David Somerville, and during the credits, we got ‘The Edge of Forever,’ by Carol Browning. If you’re one who has only a limited interest, give “The Dark Side of the Forest” a listen, as it’s probably one of the better things about the film.

Certainly the movie isn’t without value, but The Forest often felt way too tedious to really enjoy, and while I personally wouldn’t call it awful, I would call it quite subpar, even as a fan of 80’s slashers.

5.5/10