Death Forest movie series #1: "Forest of Fear" review

 

 Release Date: December 20, 2014   Length: 64 minutes   Director/Writer: Masataka Hitomi 

This is the first of five films based on the game.

 Main  Cast: This has to be the most unknown cast for any film ever made! Had never heard of one actor and a few appeared in nothing besides this film, that is save for Ayuka who is one cutie! The first four are all friends about 22 in age who it seems are recent college graduates. That above 'face' is of the main Spirit named Yoshie.

Momoko Midorikawa as Saki.... The 'star' of the film and arranged the trip to a cabin she went to her with her three friends. She was the only survivor and was she secretly dating Takashi?

Ayuka Ono as Ayaka..... Saki's best friend, a woman who can't live without her cellphone!

Katsunori Tanaka as Masaya.... Practical joker and was kind of a useless man on the trip. He may be dating Ayaka though it's not that serious.

Shogo Tajima as Takashi.... He was the driver for the quartet on the trip who cant hold his liquor too well and as mentioned is he dating Saki?

Daijiro Kawaoka as Kazuki Uchida.... Photographer who somehow got stranded, lost or perhaps kidnapped in the haunted forest. He seemed like a ruthless villain but in the end was the hero.

Koichi Kida as Hasegawa.... Detective on the hunt for three missing people in the forest.

Kazunori Heike as Suzuki.... Was unnamed so had to call him something, Hasegawa's senior.

Kumiko Shimohigashi as Saito.... Older woman who owned a restaurant where the group stopped for lunch, she's quite mysterious and could she possibly be a Spirit?

 Movie's trailer

 

 First Japanese film I've reviewed in a while, actually much prefer them to dramas but the quality of them have gone downhill so much in the last decade. Except for movies like this which was one of the lowest budget films I've ever viewed. They're the kinds of movies I enjoy though and can't give a good reason why on that! There's five films in this Death Forest series that came out in a two year stretch, will review the second one in a week or so and will play it by ear on the other three. Almost always have two posts for movie reviews but seeing as how it was only 64 minutes in length will squeeze everything into this post and hope it's not too long. Won't call this a so bad it's good movie but it's not far from that, but I enjoyed it and the last twenty minutes was quite good though not too horrific.

 The movies are based upon a game also called Death Forest but this first film didn't follow the object of the game. In it a motorcyclist's bike breaks down in Aokigahara forest, that's how the film did open up. In the game the rider Uchida needed to collect four items to repair his bike which didn't happen along with finding batteries to keep his flashlight alive. Perhaps the other films follow the game a bit more closely and if so will give you more details about the game, this was more of a straight forward semi-horror flick.

 This is such an unknown cast, in this top screenshot are the four major characters. Going from left to right it's Saki(who you'll see the most), Masaya, Takashi and Ayaka.

 Aokigahara Forest is a real location in Japan which is slightly northwest of Mt. Fuji. It's only a two hour drive to Tokyo but the way the four young characters were talking it seemed to be at least 250 miles away! In the second screenshot at the top is how the movie opened with the photographer Uchida taking a personal detour and ending up in Aokigahara Forest. He was on an assignment as we learned when he was talking with his magazine chief so why did he stop at this desolate area and lay flowers under a tree? That we learned much later on and it still wasn't quite clear what the true circumstances were. Uchida laid the flowers for his sister who either died or disappeared near this spot in the forest, at 64 minutes guess there wasn't enough time to explain everything. Night arrived very quickly, Uchida for some reason was still in the forest looking over a hand drawn map, one describing the details of his sister? The night is the perfect time for the Spirits to make an appearance, Uchida did briefly see a sinister white figure and it seemed he was a goner but he made a key return with ~twenty minutes to go in the film.

 In the second to last screenshot above is the young man Takashi and as it shows can't handle his liquor so well. He was on a three day trip to a cabin not far from Aokigahara Forest with Masaya, Ayaka and the woman in the bottom screenshot. Her name is Saki who gets the most screen time and was the organizer of this trip which until now had been an enjoyable time. She was going out to Takashi's vehicle to get her camera, upon Saki's return the lights were out in the cabin and wouldn't turn back on. Who knows why but Saki quickly went into the forest thinking she heard noises, that she did as Masaya had put the lights out to spook Saki which did work. However there was more than met the eye which you can see in the second screenshot below! That was an eerie face and at first Saki thought it was her best friend Ayaka but it wasn't as she had been trailing Saki. That eerie face will appear again as Ayaka loves to take photos and did at this time. In the screenshot below that is the detective Hasegawa with his senior partner Suzuki, the pair are looking for three missing people. They're presuming the disappearances occurred in Aokigahara Forest but Saki and her mates had never seen anyone in the photos, one of them was of Uchida. 

 We do see Hasegwa and his partner a few more times though the pair hadn't solved the cases by the end of the movie. In the fourth screenshot above are the main characters, once again their names are from left to right Saki, Ayaka, Masaya and Takashi. All are unknowns so thought it'd help a bit if you view the screenshots. The group's three day trip is over and it's back home to Tokyo, the way they were talking it seemed like it would be at least an eight hour drive! This area is very desolate as all the stores have closed, probably due to a lack of residents and tourists. But they did find a run down restaurant that was still open for business and stopped as it could be the last place for hours! That old woman in the second to last screenshot is named Saito who may not have said ten words in the film. She was one creepy woman and at the end of the movie wondered was she real or a Spirit? The quartet quickly gobbled up their food as the atmosphere wasn't too sunny to say the least, later on Hasegawa and Suzuki paid a visit to the restaurant but Saito said she had never seen the group.

 It was back to the road for their journey to Tokyo and there are no major highways in the area which is why the group may have thought it would take until midnight to make it back home. Of the four it was Ayaka who was the most worried.... mainly because she's addicted to her phone and there was no signal this far into the wilderness. That woman Saito had told the group of a shortcut which the four decided to take, but was it really a route to their Deaths?! Takashi was the driver and it was his car, a little ways down this shortcut the vehicle died out. Upon inspecting the engine somehow all of the water had evaporated, how could that happen on such a cool day? The group isn't going anywhere with no water so they spilt up to find some. The two pairings were of Saki and Takashi, then Ayaka and Masaya. Unsure if any of the pairs were officially dating but seems they may have been at the stage just before that. No water was to be found in the forest though Takashi did hear what he thought was a river. But before he could go there with Saki she suddenly screamed from some eerie noise she heard, it didn't bother Takashi but Saki had heard it the night before in the forest outside the cabin, she seems the most level headed but was the first of the group to be petrified of this forest.

 Nothing to be overly alarmed about as we all know the Spirits don't come out in the day, heard that in the last horror movie I viewed. However things didn't go as quietly for Ayaka and Masaya who stumbled across an abandoned factory.... you ever notice how many abandoned buildings are in the middle of nowhere in horror films! To my surprise a person still alive was the motorcyclist Uchida who was hiding out in this factory, he had no clue who Ayaka and Masaya were so he tried an attack which failed but the pair were frightened beyond belief as they fled back to the still damaged vehicle. Uchida wasn't going to let them escape so easily, what a deranged man he was at this time which made me wonder did he become possessed? No but he sure seemed that way as he tried to take off in Takashi's vehicle but with so water Uchida wasn't going anywhere. Masaya tried to throw him out of the car to no avail and it almost seemed as though Uchida was out for blood, would he really have killed anyone? 

 Probably not but in the nick of time Takashi returned and was able to clobber Uchida over the head with a tree limb, he was still alive as you can see above. To the group Uchida wasn't one to be trusted but he slowly began to explain his story or parts of how he ended up in the forest. The four had seen Uchida's motorcycle along the road and had thought about taking the bike(!), least Masaya had. But during all of these mini events the afternoon was drawing to a close as it's beginning to get dark. Takashi said there's no way the group could stay out here stranded as there's no phone service plus no one in their right mind would ever come down such a desolate road. So he headed off back to the mini major road, perhaps he could go back to the restaurant to call for help and while the others didn't agree what other options were there? At the restaurant were the detective pairing of Hasegawa and Suzuki, that's when the old and mystery woman Saito said no else had visited her place recently... a LIE! Still have such a feeling this woman isn't a human but some sort of Spirit.

 Saki has believed all of Uchida's story as she had remembered the detective Hasegawa had shown her Uchida's photo saying he was missing. But it remained unknown how he ended up deeper in the forest and hadn't tried returning to his motorcycle after being chased(!) by that white Spirit in the beginning. Uchida did give the trio some details about these creatures that only roam at night, how he knows is also unknown and I really have a whole bunch of questions that will never be answered. LIGHT is what attracts these spirits/creatures as that will really stand out at night, but then again while it attracts them these monsters are also scared of light and will only come so close. The key then is to always have a flashlight with you if walking or if in a car to keep the headlights on. While Saki and Uchida were having this chat Ayaka and especially Masaya were getting a bit tired of waiting for the return of Takashi and decided to venture out on their own looking for him, needless to say that will end up being the biggest mistake of their lives.... and also the last decision for one of them!

 We're getting close to the fifty minute mark and finally one of these Spirits was seen though at least there was a bit of a creepy atmosphere leading into it. The pair did find Takashi or at least... his right arm still holding a flashlight! That's the arm right above and below that was the first sighting of the main creature who is called Yoshie, he was having a feast with the rest of Takashi's body! Ayaka naturally fled the carnage in a hurry but not Masaya who crept a bit closer to see if it was his friend. That it was and within seconds Masaya became the second victim of the creature! This Yoshie can somehow 'fly' and he was upon the young man in a heartbeat, no killings for fifty and now there was a pair in less than two minutes. Ayaka made it back to the vehicle safe and sound but had no idea what had become of her boyfriend(?) who she thought was right behind him. Uchida filled Ayaka in about the details of these creatures with the main point being LIGHT will attract them but will also keep them at bay. Soon an army of these monsters were approaching the vehicle and these creatures are called Omiya, by now Ayaka was in such a state of panic about them and Masaya missing so she snatched up a flare from the car and fled away as you can see below. That was the last we saw of Ayaka who without a doubt became the third victim in less than ten minutes.

 Remember this was just a 64 minute movie, minus the credits it was only 61 minutes so we're getting close to the end. So now three have been killed rather rapidly and we're down to two who are Saki and Uchida. They're still in the vehicle and as long as they keep the headlights on they'll remain safe. But how long will the car's battery last, that Uchida didn't think would be all night so he's decided to go back and locate his motorcycle in the dead of night with so many of those creatures wanting him to become victim #4! Of course Saki was against it but it was the only option as she remained alone in the car. Soon he headlights really did begin to die out and was it just a matter of minutes before Saki was Yoshie's next meal?! No, for in the nick of time arriving back at the car was Uchida with his bike, how did he find it so quickly in the dead of night with it being so many miles away?

 Horror films often leave you wondering about many details. With the car now being surrounded by the Omiya monsters Uchida threw Saki on the back of his motorcycle and tore away. However this Yoshie can 'fly' and as you can see above it was right on the tail of the two but remember the weakness of these Spirits. Which is Light and every time Yoshie swooped in Saki would take a picture using Uchida's camera, that flash was enough to keep the monster at bay but how much longer would the flash work? Just long enough as it was getting close to when the Sun would rise, in horror flicks Spirits can only operate at night. So with the Sun slowly appearing it meant Saki and Uchida were safe as the pair never stopped and continued on to Tokyo, never saw them again. But we did see in the final minute the detectives Hasegawa and Suzuki who paid another visit to the restaurant, now the case they're working on has had three new victims added to it! The old woman Saito was not there and the question is was she ever? That bottom screenshot above was from the closing seconds, it was at the restaurant and it sure looked like an alive Saito from years ago, could he be Yoshie or perhaps its leader?

 That probably wasn't the most interesting of reviews but it was far from being an exciting or terrifying film. But it was good enough to me and as mentioned in the beginning B-movies like these are ones I somehow prefer to view though can't give it a high recommendation. Not going to give this movie a grade or at least not yet. If I view all five films in the series will give an overall grade and perhaps one for each of the five movies. So in about a week will have a review for the second in this series which is titled "Death Forest: Forest of Terror 2". Plenty of screenshots below that may help you follow the story a bit better.