The Forest (2016)
UPDATE #1 FROM Mangus (August 11, 2016): I was a bit harsh on The Forest. My complaints still hold, but let me add something I neglected before: it's nonetheless worth watching. Some movies are lousy. This isn't. Yes, I focus on a topic that bugs me, but I don't go into what this movie does right, and it gets a lot of elements right, particularly the overall look. No, I haven't been pressured to add this disclaimer; I simply feel it would be a shame if I steered anyone away from watching this movie as it has so many cool and spooky parts. ~ PHEW ~ I feel SO MUCH better. Now onto the bashing.
Cheese. Not like a poorly done monster costume but literal yellow cheese. One pound mild cheddar. That is what I thought about after watching Universal’s The Forest, staring Natalie Dormer and Taylor Kinney.
My cheese needs explained, because it’s not like you probably think. This was not a cheesy movie. I liked a whole lot about this flick: the story, psychological horror, acting, a lot of the look, even the soundtrack. There was real creepiness, and I found myself taking the emotional journey with the lead character, something often missing for me in contemporary horror movies.
And then a scary face would jump out with a loud scream and cheap jump scare, and the whole mood was diminished.
It reminded me of food from a low quality chain restaurant, every dish smothered in cheese. I’m not talking a sprinkle of aged pecorina Toscano, but handfuls of cheap cheddar from a ten pound plastic bag tossed with a SPLAT on every flippin' dish to sit under the warmer. It’s insulting, suggesting I'm unable to appreciate subtlety or nuance without cheese, cheese and more cheese. And the thing is, I like cheese, used with restraint.
The Forest tells the story of two twin sisters, Sarah and Jess, who share a mild psychic connection. Jess, the more troubled sister (we know she’s troubled because she is dark haired and Sarah blond, so duh), goes missing in Aokigahara in Japan, also known as the Suicide Forest. Because of their bond, Sarah senses that Jess is still alive, so she hops on a plane to do a little mystery unraveling in Japan. The problem is, Aokigahara is a nasty forest that exploits inner sorrows and weaknesses against you. It jacks with your head, and you can’t trust anything you see or hear.
I must explain that my previous analogy of the chain restaurant fails a little in reference to The Forest. This movie holds a tasty base of good flavors and ingredients. Instead, what cheesed me was this was almost a movie I could have really, really enjoyed. I’m not saying it was perfect, only that it had the depth and material I dig. Being disappointed with a good movie screwed up due to a lack of restraint, however, feels worse to me than being disappointed because a movie just plain sucked. This movie didn’t suck at all, but for me it was ruined.
Here’s a perfect example. In my favorite scene, Sarah finds a vintage ViewMaster in a place where no ViewMaster should be. As she looks through it, she sees scenes from her childhood invoking tragic memories she doesn’t want to think about. Her parents had died when she was a young child, and in the View-Master she sees the feet of a prone figure lying dead on the ground. A theme of not looking at the darker sides of life has previously been established in the movie, so the scene was near perfect – does Sarah, who has closed her eyes on bad things throughout her life, push the lever and advance to the next slide? Her finger hesitates, she trembles, and you feel her inner conflict. Dude, I was right there with her. It was a wonderful moody, unsettling metaphor for facing repressed fears and making decisions. And then – SCREAMING CHEESE -- an unnecessary jump scare.
Dammit! The scene was perfectly creepy and melancholy, eloquently capturing Sarah’s struggle without words. Beautiful. Why in the flip would you ruin that with a jump scare? That scene wasn’t a crappy casserole. It was gourmet, but man, not after the scare. The flavors were obliterated.
When watching this movie, I kept thinking two thoughts. One: I bet this movie would have been awesome had it been a Japanese production, and if you’re a horror movie person, you know what I mean. Two: I bet some studio executive said, “It’s great, but American audiences need more real scares. Toss in a screaming kid here with a loud noise. People eat that stuff up.”
Listen, I don’t know the real story behind it, but to me the jump scares felt separate from the scenes, like they didn’t fit and were added. It takes more confidence to let creepiness do its job, because if you fail, the scene fails. The problem was, the scenes wouldn’t have failed, and could have been altered to become truly classic. None of the scenes fail, but the safety net of using an unnecessary jump scare weakened their intensity.
Director Jason Zada is a new-ish director, and if he directs more horror movies, I’ll give them a shot. He’s competent, seems talented, and was able to layer on emotional depth and make a cohesive move without tons of plot holes. Sure, there were a few obvious devices to get the audience moving in one direction, but at no point did I think to myself, “Man, this guy doesn’t know what he is doing.” In fact, it was because he seemed to know what he was doing that I became frustrated. The movie had a good story and cast and look. It simply lost its nerve by deciding to hit you in the face when it could have gotten under your skin. So close.
Long Trail Brewing Company's Limbo IPA
If I was forced to pick beer packaging graphics for a tattoo, this would be it. On a side note, if you think too much about it, this really is a mopey presentation full of angst and sorrow, not exactly a logo that screams PARTY, but do you ever really want anyone to scream PARTY, though, except in an old B-52s song? I don't. This label had the feeling I wanted from The Forest. So. Let’s see if this beer does better than the movie in respecting subtly.
First of all, from a purely personal level, I'm on the fence. I found it easily drinkable, although at 7.6% it's a bit strong for tilting too many. In fact, I could picture myself growing to like it. I just didn't really like the taste on first drink, but not because it was bad (it definitely isn't), just because of personal preference.
You need to like bitter for this one, which I do, although I prefer a little less than this. Rated at 80 IBUs, you get a rush o' bitter after taking a swig as the beer hits the back of your tongue, and that bitter lingers a bit.
This was an odd one for me as it almost seemed nondescript at first, yet then it seemed exactly the opposite. The hops are different, and the aftertaste has hints of barley wine/Belgian, but not quite. It's like a shadow out of the corner of your eye --your beer eye. It's kind of there, than not.
Truth is, I bet you could argue this one either way. It is not a wimpy beer and doesn't go for in-your-face gimmicks, and I appreciate that, but it also doesn't seem overly complex to me, although I get that I don't have the most sophisticated pallet.
I'm going to let this one sit for awhile. I don't mean literally sit, as I'm drinking it. I just mean that I get the feeling that my opinions will change dramatically over time as this really is a good beer, so I'll be curious to revisit this one later. I definitely would love to try this one on tap, but alas I have no plans in the near future to get out to Bridgewater Corners, Vermont.
UPDATE #2 FROM Mangus (August 11, 2016): Limbo IPA has really grown on me. I had one a week later, and then another a week after that, and found I strangely enjoyed it more and more each time. For whatever reason, this was not a Beer I loved straight outta the Forest. It took some time, which I think is good. I appreciate beers that give my taste buds something to ponder. I am curious to hear if anyone else had the same experience, or if I just have a wonky tongue.
