Horror in the Forest (2023) Film Review
There’s a pretty good idea in Horror in the Forest. Yeah, I’m a sucker for found footage films, and I will also feel compelled to watch them because I find them to be scary, and I love a good scare. So, while I fell for the found footage format, Horror in the Forest is a good opportunity to see what’s right and wrong about the use of the format today.
Behind its very simple premise, and what some would consider “monotonous execution”, there’s something interesting to be found. This is a horror film that looks like other films you probably saw before. It complies with every rule in the book and it even copies a major scene from its undeniable inspiration. That doesn’t mean it is a bad movie. We can’t accuse it of duplicating content, because then we would have to do that with most Hollywood films out there. What I found interesting about it, is what you can actually find beyond that first glance. In the core of its premise, there lies a commentary about trauma that works.
The film’s setting is similar to other found footage films. Filmmakers decide to shoot a documentary about something in the forest. The so-called curse of Rudwick Forest is responsible for making people disappear. After a cold opening, it’s pretty clear that there’s something personal that’s lurking in the woods. Our crew is meticulous about interviewing people that have been involved in the disappearances. From family to those in charge of taking care of the place. In the end, they will face something that’s out of this world.
Can I say it? Well, I’d rather you see it for yourself. All I will say is that the entity is evil enough.
Directed by Brendan Rudnicki, the guy behind Forest of Death, this one goes full generic even with its title. Rudnicki attempts found footage and makes the best of it by going for a subtle horror film that’s more about other things than the average horror tropes in the subgenre. Sure, jump scares are there, but Rudnicki also gives screen time to a working dynamic between the leads, and he also provides dramatic weight on the mystery of a father with a weird stance in regards to the forest. Adding trauma to the equation at this point would have been deemed unnecessary in any other movie. In this case, I just thought it gave enough force to let the film naturally run its course until its ending.
Some disturbing imagery and lack of excesses make Horror in the Forest a counterpoint in discussions of “found footage is dead”. As we’ve seen in the past with other indie productions, and specifically in genre films, a director should be able to recognize the limits of a production. Instead of going for cheesy digital effects and cheap scares that make no sense, Rudnicki stays on a more sober path that makes this one a good move when building his universe of films. Yeah, there’s no way we can’t see his last run of films as being part of something bigger that’ll make him grow, learn, and make better films in the future.
