Plot: Steve and his friend Charlie have grown tired of the gridlock, smog, and urban life in general. Not to mention neither man has a stable marriage at the moment, with divorce even being discussed. A break from it all would be nice and since one of them knows a great camping spot, an outdoor adventure is planned. Their wives Teddy and Sharon agree that a camping trip would be fun, even though the men seem to think the ladies wouldn’t do so well in the woods. The couples head to the woods, with the women in one car and the men in the other, though the men suffer some car trouble. So the women arrive first and encounter some strange things, including an odd woman. This woman is bleeding and looking for her children, who she claims need to be punished. Steve and Charlie take a while to reach the woods, but they meet a ranger who tells them about some mysterious disappearances.  Is there a dark force at work within the woods and if so, can these two couples survive the trip, let alone rekindle their romances?

Entertainment Value: This lower profile slasher has some interesting elements, but winds up as a middle of the road experience. I like the ghost children, the cannibal in the woods, and the marital unrest drama, but The Forest still never really stands out. A prime example is how the movie takes over half an hour to get going and even then, it is winds up slowly. No real tension or atmosphere, just slow pace exposition for about the first forty-five minutes or so. The Forest does have a strange, entertaining chase scene though, as a man pursues the guy who just just fucked his wife. The husband is beaten up and knocked down, but somehow manages to always be one step ahead, with a new weapon. He even duels with the other dude, in a pitchfork versus rusted, broken bicycle showdown. An odd sequence and for me, one of the highlights. I have a high tolerance for horror movies, so I wasn’t let by The Forest, but I can see why other genre fans might be. A few cool moments pop out, but in the end, this is likely just too slow and uneventful for most audiences.

Despite the cuckold/whore wife scenario involved, The Forest provides no naked moments. There is some blood, but not much and the movie produces a fairly low body count. The killings have no real graphic elements or gushing blood, just kind of the aftermath mess. I think if the killer would have been more psychotic and had sicker methods, it would have helped a lot. But he is more or less just lazy as a murderer and the cannibal angle isn’t explored or played with much. So you will see some blood, but not as much as you might expect. No real dialogue that stands out, but the trippy voices of the ghost children are memorable. The killer’s wife explaining her extramarital hijinks offers some entertainment as well. The Forest doesn’t score high on the insane meter, never pushing the violence, sex, or twisted moments. The film seems content to be a decent, but not too memorable picture. As I said before, I think this would have been much better if they had gone over the edge in some ways.

Nudity: 0/10

Bllod: 2/10

Dialogue: 1/10

Overall Insanity: 1/10