The Haunted Forest is a character-driven story, and aside from these out-of-place scenes of terror, no one dies until 35 minutes into the film, and although it should be a shocking moment, it isn’t. It’s the competition of tone that causes this moment to fizzle. Zach and his relationship with Sarah brings an Adventureland tone that carries the film. The horror elements become almost an uninteresting distraction.
Keep in mind, each of the scenes of horror that occur in Zach’s artistic mind are well executed, exciting and fun, but they don’t fit with the rest of the film. The horror that occurs in the “real world” at the haunted house become overshadowed by the grandeur of Zach’s imagination.
“…full of rich and charming Halloween atmosphere…”
The film does have a solid twist in the third act, but due to some editing choices with music and a major shift in tone, it doesn’t quite drive it home. Beware, slight spoilers ahead… Zach and his friend from school, Carly (Meghan Reed), discover who is behind the killing and have a big opportunity to escape and get the police involved, but instead, they decide to stay and kill the killers. This is so out of character for both of them, and it takes on a Ready or Not and Fright Night tone where they’re totally fine going out of their way to kill, which takes away any tension or fear you might have for their lives. The protagonists deciding to stand up to the killer isn’t a surprising horror trope, but the way it’s executed here just feels off.
The Haunted Forest has many great ideas for horror deaths, locations, atmosphere, charming characters, and twists. Unfortunately, the film doesn’t live up to its setups. That said, I am very excited to see future films by Keith Boynton. He clearly has talent and an eye for the elements that make a great story. Although I felt let down by the film, I enjoyed spending time with these characters, and for most of the film, I cared about what might happen to them. If you love Halloween and want to start the spooky season early, or if you’re an aspiring horror writer/director, you might still want to check it out.
"…Artistic scenes of horror well executed"
