The Forest Blu-ray - Ann Wilkinson

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

Directed by Don Jones
USA 1982

Two couples decide to get away from the congestion of L.A. and go camping (not having been privy to the opening sequence in which another hiking couple are knifed by an unseen killer). Having had a battle-of-the-sexes argument about women in the wilderness, the wives drive up first with the expectation that there bickering husbands will join them in a few days (they are actually following close behind). Taking shelter from the rain, the women first encounter a ghostly apparition of a woman looking for her equally ghostly children (allegedly cute child actors who have been secretly observing the pair who first alert their knife-wielding, flesh-craving father to the presence of campers and then decide to warn the soon-to-be-victims).

From then on, we're in slasher territory with a bit of supernatural novelty and not-so-special special effects. Sadly, the film has little else going for it. Shot on location, the lighting is what you would expect of a low budget horror film shot on film while the sound design is ridiculously upstaged by overuse of bobcat roars. The killer (Gary Kent billed as Michael Brody due to SAG rules) does not stay an unseen menace for long (he doesn't even get that impressive of a reveal). An early nonsensical spin on the "let's split up" convention of slasher films has a couple hiking in the middle of the woods. The woman is sure they are being followed and is nervous. Despite the fact that the husband wants to get going before nightfall, the wife says "I know the way too, why don't I go ahead of you" and he lets her go ahead solely to hang back and be murdered. The electronic main theme starts out effectively before taking a Disney-fied turn and the rest of the score is keyboard stalking and some bad early eighties vocals (especially "The Dark Side of the Forest" which will have you fast forwarding).

Eric Cotenas

Posters

Theatrical Release: June 11th, 1982

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Review: Code Red - Region FREE - Blu-ray

Box Cover		CLICK to order from: Bonus Captures:
Distribution	Code Red - Region FREE - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:25:51.187
Video	1.78:1 1080P Single-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 22,735,451,518 bytes Feature: 21,074,853,888 bytes Video Bitrate: 28.75 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate Blu-ray:
Audio	DTS-HD Master Audio English 1819 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1819 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) Commentaries: Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -27dB Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
Subtitles	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Code Red 1.78:1 1080P Single-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 22,735,451,518 bytes Feature: 21,074,853,888 bytes Video Bitrate: 28.75 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • Audio Commentary by Producer/Director Don Jones and Star Gary Kent (Michael Brody) • Audio Commentary by Producer/Director Don Jones and Cinematographer Stuart Asbjornsen • Making-of Featurette (13:05) • Theatrical Trailer (1:09) • CodeRed Trailers (1:27) Blu-ray Release Date: March 9th, 2021 Standard Transparent Blu-ray Case inside slipcase Chapters 14

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Code Red Blu-ray (February 2021): Code Red are re-releasing Don Jones's The Forest to Blu-ray. It came out a few years ago but is now out-of-print and like a number of this company's BD titles - it is being re-released. Often the initial edition had a limited slip case, but with The Forest the newer Blu-ray edition (2021) has the slipcase. Eric reviewed the DVD that came out in 2006, HERE. The 1080P has about 4X the bitrate and is a significant bump in the image quality (se capture comparison below.) Detail and contrast rise dramatically and colors gain superior balance and depth. It is still in the 1.78:1 aspect ratio. The new Blu-ray is cited as a "Special Edition". It can look surprisingly impressive at times.

NOTE: We have added 62 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Code Red use a DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel track (24-bit) in the original English language. This is also a leap beyond the lossy Dolby DVD . The score is credited to Richard Hieronymus (The Love Butcher, Aunt Peg's Fulfillment, Co-Ed Fever, The Ecstasy Girls, Teen Lust, Sweater Girls) and Alan Oldfield (Dogs) adding some nostalgic character to this outdoorsy slasher film. Code Red's Region FREE Blu-ray also offers no subtitles.

This Code Red Blu-ray includes the same two, previous, commentaries by director Don Jones (Schoolgirls in Chains) and Gary Kent (credited as "Michael Brody") and a second with Jones and Cinematographer Stuart Asbjornsen (Bitch Slap.) There are some interesting discussions about the production. There is also a, repeated, 1/4 hour 'making of' featurette, a trailer and Code Red trailers. The package has the slipcase seen above.

The Forest is not great cinema but it's easy to see the appeal. It has been linked to 1981's Don't Go In The Woods with varying degrees of polish. Unafraid to murder-off presumed protagonists early, provides the film a nice undetermined edginess. As far as I can tell the only addition to this "Special Edition" is the slipcase. It's not something we can strongly endorse but the Code Red Blu-ray offers a lot to the right niche.

Gary Tooze

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Distribution Code Red - Region FREE - Blu-ray

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