THE
FOREST (1982)Director: Don Jones
Code Red
THE
FOREST (1982)Following up on their debut
releases of James Bryan’s atrocious DON’T GO IN THE WOODS ALONE
and the tame FABULOUS JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH, new company Code Red
has plunged once again into the much-maligned slasher subgenre by unearthing
a deservedly forgotten killer-in-the-woods opus, 1982’s THE FOREST. It’s
a mystery why this film deserved a release before other films listed on the
company’s roster (1970s exploitation gems including PETS, LOVE ME DEADLY,
SCHOOLGIRLS IN CHAINS, the mega-obscure CAGED MEN PLUS ONE WOMAN, and TEENAGE
HITCHHIKERS), but here it is for the handful of people who demanded this disc.
After a lame tacked-on opening with a hiking couple getting butchered in the
woods, two couples venture into the same forest on a camping trip. The ladies
take off early, and the men arrange to meet them there. None of them count on
running into a deranged mountain man who has a taste for human flesh and sits
waiting for new prey to enter his domain. His dead children’s ghosts pop
up to help the campers escape with their lives.
Move
over, LIFESPAN, this is the new turkey of the year! A film that takes 45 minutes
for something to happen is a failure, plain and simple. Director Don Jones had
previously helmed the surprisingly effective SCHOOLGIRLS IN CHAINS and THE LOVE
BUTCHER, but he really phones it in with this generic slasher. The audience
couldn’t care less for the four leads, none of whom are interesting or
unique enough to root for; the synthesizer score could peel paint off the walls
of your living room (the title song is bad enough to elicit some laughs, though);
none of the performances register, except perhaps Gary Kent in a villainous
turn as the killer (his late wife, Tomi Barrett, plays one of the lady campers);
and worst of all, the majority of the running time feels like a nature documentary
or a particularly terrible episode of “Wild Kingdom”. Any viewer
expecting gory thrills will be sorely disappointed, as you have to sit through
tons of padding and bad attempts at characterization to get to the first run-for-your-life
chase scene (which shows up at the 61 minute mark). The one interesting part
of the film appears during Gary Kent’s flashback, explaining why he’s
living in the mountains; he discovered his whore of a wife in bed with the plumber,
and in an even more shocking development, she locked her kids in the closet
next to the bed while they screwed!! He kills them both and retreats to the
forest with his children. One fun fact: leading man John Batis is indeed the
same John Batis who starred in Sande Johnsen’s brilliant TEENAGE GANG
DEBS (contrary to the Jones-Asbjornsen-Goodsell audio commentary’s assertion
to the contrary). Nothing more can be said, really. Though the film has a few
memorably cheesy moments and some gore scenes to please horror fans, it never
rises above perfectly awful.
The widescreen transfer for THE FOREST starts off badly, with some print jumps
and debris, and while colors remain strong and sturdy throughout the film, there
is an irritating blurring that occurs during any on-screen movements, making
the entire viewing experience even more of a nuisance. The mono audio does its
job just fine.
For
such a wet dog of a film, THE FOREST comes decked out in a special edition DVD
that actually rivals discs of better, more deserving films! In the first of
two audio commentaries, director Don Jones and actor Gary Kent reunite to discuss
the making of THE FOREST. It’s a pretty entertaining listen, as the two
filmmakers (who worked together on several other films) are obviously still
close friends and offer an engaging chat about the locations, the various aspects
of production, raising the money and financing the low budget feature, identifying
and remembering the cast and crew, and generally have a good time with this
atrocity. There are some moments of play-by-play description and dead space,
but overall it’s actually a more fun listen than sitting through the whole
movie by itself. This is Kent’s first audio commentary, and considering
the man’s incredible career, he should be doing more, or even writing
a book! A second audio commentary, with Jones returning with cinematographer
Stuart Asbjornsen and moderated by writer Greg Goodsell, unfortunately doesn’t
have much to add to the previous commentary. One wonders why it was included
or even recorded, as it basically treads the same ground as Jones and Kent did
together, and both Asbjornsen (who has gone on to much bigger, better things)
and Goodsell have little to add. Stick with the Jones-Kent commentary, it’s
much more enjoyable. A video interview segment features Jones, Abjornsen, and
Kent discussing further memories of the film. Of the trio, Kent has the most
to say, with some fine stories of his late wife and her impromptu stuntwork,
working with the child actors, and working on developing his character. Quality
shifts between SLP-VHS quality (the Jones-Asbjornsen footage) and crisp quality
(the Kent footage), and the audio on both has its problems. It’s a shame
Kent doesn’t discuss more of his vast filmography, but considering he
also appears in Code Red’s upcoming SCHOOLGIRLS IN CHAINS, I would hope
the company would include a nice retrospective on that release.
In addition to a promotional trailer that appears to have been created for this
DVD and a brief photo gallery of video artwork, behind-the-scenes photos, and
promotional stills, a selection of Code Red trailers offers a varied array of
genres the company is tackling. DON’T GO IN THE WOODS is another God-awful
slasher-in-the-woods flick with some noteworthy gore effects and plenty of cheese.
FABULOUS JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH is a G-rated offering from the director
of PIECES, Juan Piquer Simon, and is expectedly tame and unmemorable. SCHOOLGIRLS
IN CHAINS is a rather underrated exploitation flick with some impressive cinematography
by Ronald Victor Garcia (THE TOY BOX) and a bleak, perverse atmosphere (watch
for brief Gary Kent nudity!! Woo-hoo!). DEVIL TIMES FIVE is listed on the trailer
menu, but when you click the button, the trailer doesn’t play. Hmm…
Too bad, it’s a pretty good killer-kid film set in an isolated cabin as
a group of orphans begin killing off vacationing adults. SWEET SIXTEEN is yet
another forgotten 1980s slasher, with Dana Kimmell (FRIDAY THE 13TH 3), that
looks mildly interesting, with a new girl in town sparking a series of murders
that she may or may not be committing. THE FARMER is a real surprise! This 1977
rape-revenge story brings to mind BILLY JACK or ROLLING THUNDER, as a Vietnam
vet returns home to live a quiet life on his farm with wife Angel Tompkins…until
corrupt local officials put a lean on his property, kill his best friend, and
rape his wife, leading to a spree of violent revenge exploitation fans go crazy
for! BEYOND THE DOOR is possibly the biggest title Code Red has the rights to;
this EXORCIST rip-off was a major hit in 1975, starring “Nanny and the
Professor” star Juliet Mills, Argento favorite Gabriele Lavia, and slumming
British actor Richard Johnson (THE HAUNTING). (Casey
Scott)