As Jason Zada’s low-key horror creeps closer and closer to release, the studio has conjured up a new poster and blood-curdling trailer for The Forest, which sends Game of Thrones starlet Natalie Dormer on a harrowing search for answers.
Situated in the very real – and very terrifying – plains of Japan’s Aokigahara forest, Dormer toplines the psychological thriller as Sara, a young American woman who throws caution to the wind in order to venture into the titular forest in search for her missing sibling. Allowing ignorance to get the better of her, Sara soon finds herself caught amid the Sea of Trees without a hope or a prayer, and if Japanese folklore is anything to go by, Aokigahara isn’t the kind of environment befitting of an overnight stay.
Taking a brief hiatus from HBO’s fantasy epic, not to mention her recent turn in Lionsgate’s trilogy-capper Mockingjay – Part 2, Dormer’s foray into the horror genre has certainly caught our eye, though it’s difficult to muster any excitement for Zada’s horror flick beyond the title setting. Nevertheless, we’ll be hoping for some twists and turns along the way.
With Taylor Kinney, Sarah Cornwell and Nick Antosca rounding out the cast, The Forest is due to open in limited release in the States on January 8, 2016, before making the jump across the pond to launch in the UK in time for February 26.
Rising with terrifying grandeur at the base of Mt. Fuji in Japan, the legendary real-life Aokigahara Forest is the suspense-filled setting of the supernatural thriller. A young American woman, Sara (Natalie Dormer of Game of Thrones and The Hunger Games), journeys there in search of her twin sister, who has mysteriously disappeared. In the company of expatriate Aiden (Taylor Kinney of Chicago Fire), Sara enters the forest having been well warned to “stay on the path.” Determined to discover the truth about her sister’s fate, Sara will have to face the angry and tormented souls of the dead that prey on anyone who dares come near them. These malevolent spirits lying in wait for Sara at every turn will plunge her into a frightening darkness from which she must fight to save herself.