Number Rolled: 14
Movie Name/Year: Into
the Forest (2015)
Tagline: Hope is
power.
Genre: Drama,
Sci-Fi, Thriller
Length: 101
minutes
Rating: R
Production Companies:
Rhombus Media, BRON Studios
Producer: Fraser
Ash, Kelly Bush Novak, Jason Cloth, Sriram Das, Niv Fichman, Aaron L. Gilbert, Margot
Hand, Kevin Krikst, Adrian Love, Ron McLeod, Kelly Morel, Elliot Page, Haroon
Saleem, Steve Shapiro, Kristina Sorensen, Allan J. Stitt, Steven Thibault
Director: Patricia
Rozema
Writer: Patricia
Rozema, Jean Hegland
Actors: Elliot Page, Evan Rachel Wood, Max Minghella, Callum Keith Rennie, Michael Eklund, Wendy
Crewson, Ronin Cara, Owen Cara
Blurb from Netflix:
In the near future, two frightened sisters fight for survival after losing
their father during a deadly, quietly looming apocalypse.
Selina’s Point of View:
I love apocalypse films, so I was really looking forward to
this one. Unfortunately, I was left wanting.
The entire film was just so forced and boring.
If the makers of Into
the Forest were trying to make the most distinctly unlikable characters
with the most pointless setting, they succeeded. I can’t remember a movie where
I’ve wanted every single character in the story to die, as much as I did here.
Don’t get me wrong, I like bleak endings in general, but I don’t usually hope
for the death of EVERY character.
They managed to make an apocalypse story without really
showing it in the setting. There was no urgency. There was no dread.
I can, and have, gotten behind apocalypse films that were purely
drama. No horror. No thrills. No action. It’s a concept that’s difficult, but
it can work. The challenge is getting across that survival, end-of-the-world
vibe without your typical overt causes (zombies, global warming, nuclear
attack, etc.). If someone is going to make an ‘out-with-a-whimper’ apocalypse
story, they have to find other ways to get that nerve-wracking will-they/won’t-they-survive
feeling. The people behind Into the
Forest failed at that.
The one moment I actually felt dread was due to lazy
writing. The creators fell back on a trope that didn’t belong in their film. It
seemed to purely be there for shock value.
Now, this movie was based on a book. It’s entirely possible
that the book gets the ‘apocalypse’ feeling right. A lot of times, stories like
this just work better on the page.
I feel little more than bored and tired after Into the Forest.
Cat’s Point of View:
This isn’t your average post-apocalyptic movie; yet, at the
same time, it’s almost everything you’d expect from one.
Once more, I find myself pondering adding another book to my
ever-growing to-read list. Reportedly, Elliot Page (Super, Tallulah, Flatliners) was inspired to produce a movie
adaptation after picking up the novel in her hometown. I guess that makes this
a bit of a passion project for her, since this was her first credited film as a
producer.
She and Evan Rachel Wood (Across the Universe, Charlie Countryman, Westworld) paired really
well as siblings. It was clear that they really were able to vibe off each
other – otherwise this feels train would have jumped the tracks early on.
That being said, I don’t think that this will necessarily
appeal to everyone. It’s only downfall in my book is that it’s a bit of a slow
burn. I expect that’s likely quite intentional to amp up the tension as time
marches relentlessly on in the story.
This isn’t a thriller gauged to keep you at the edge of your
seat for a breath stealing moment. It explores the bleakness of isolation and
the loss of modern convenience, with a dash of the ever-encroaching underbelly
of humanity. The crawl of the film’s runtime certainly delivers that feeling in
spades.
While I don’t know that I’d give this film a third
watch-through, I wouldn’t mind giving it a recommendation as a solid drama for
anyone with the patience required to take it all in without boredom.
Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 78%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 43%
Metascore - 59/100
Metacritic User Score – 6.0/10
IMDB Score – 5.9/10
Trust the Dice: Selina’s Rating – 1/5
Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating
– 3.5/5
Movie Trailer:
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