The Forest (2016)

What to Expect

The Forest takes place in a vast dense forest in Japan called the Aokigahara, at the base of Mount Fuji. Some call it Sea of Trees, most call it the Suicide Forest. Since forever it's been a popular place for people to go to commit suicide, so much so that the Japanese believe it's actively haunted by "yurei", ghosts of the dead. Up until the nineteenth century people would actually leave their sick and elderly in the forest to die, they call it "ubasute". Crazy that it has a name. And since the 70's there's been annual body searches where police and volunteers comb the place to clear it of corpses. And if that weren't dark enough, the forest also sits upon ancient lava rock which supposedly mutes sound travel and makes magnetic compasses go haywire. Talk about a perfect setting for a horror movie. The Forest's angle is that the yurei ghosts aren't just ghosts who wander around freaking out hikers, but rather they try to lure in the living and drive them to suicide by preying on their deepest sadness and fears. Kinda messed up when you think about it. They go into the forest to kill themselves for whatever reason and then in the afterlife try to trick other non-suicidal people into doing the same, just because? Problem is, Sarah is sad because her twin sister wandered into the suicide forest. So nobody wants her going in after her sister because they know the ghosts will sniff her out, which they do.