A dark forest known for causing mysterious deaths becomes the focus of a recent savage murder. A homicide detective, a botanist researching the paranormal, and his tabloid TV reporter girlfriend each embark on a treacherous journey to the heart of this "Forest of Death," where a chilling revelation awaits them all.
The Pang Brothers are known for creating the classic thriller "The Eye", after seeing that movie I became an instant fan and it is easily one of my favorite movies of all time in all of cinema. Since then the Pang Brothers have had a hit or miss career making some good movies and some not so good but I was eager to sit down to this one as I have always enjoyed their style. For starters do not think of this is a horror film, the box-art seems to portray the film as being a horror but this is a mystery thriller detective story with a supernatural twist. If you can understand that before going into it then you should find it at least entertaining. The film stars Qi Shu as the detective assigned to a murder case that happened in this mysterious forest, she does a fine job playing out this role and has always been easy on the eyes. Ekin Cheng also is in the film as a man that studies plant life and how they communicate, together these two try and solve the case. Some may find this story to be a bit too "dumb" but according to the end credits I believe this is based on some truth, at least the suicides in certain forests around the world part. One thing that I have always loved about Asian cinema is the fact that their stories are so much different than those from any other country and many have had endings that simply leave it up to the viewer to decide on, Forest of Death falls into that category as far as story goes. It is very different from anything I have seen in some time and the Pang Bros manage to bring along some creepy parts as well while keeping the mystery/thriller intact. Yes I have seen better movies from these two brothers but that doesn't make this a bad film by any means. The cast is very good,the story itself keeps you interested and the supernatural elements keep you a bit edgy, what more can one ask for? I am not sure I would recommend this to those that just like mainstream cinema but those of you like me that enjoy to watch something a little different and original I recommend picking this up. The DVD comes with Special Features that include:
Anamorphic Widescreen -
1.78
Letterbox
Audio:
Dolby Digital 5.1 - Cantonese
Subtitles - English
Additional Release Material:
Trailers:
1. Forest Of Death Trailer
2. Diary Trailer
3. Re-Cycle Trailer
