Spoiler alert!

Movies, most of them seem to have the same plot these days, but “The Forest” was certainly a standout. With a bucket of fresh popcorn and a 64-ounce drink (Waterford Cinemas now provides massive drink options), we were ready to watch this new thriller with Natalie Dormer and Taylor Kinney (in real life Kinney is dating Lady Gaga). With every scary movie comes bad acting and a random Japanese hobo. Well for this movie, that was the case. This 2016 picture, inspired by true events, starts off with a very unconcerned husband when Sarah, played by Dormer, has to suddenly fly to Japan to save her sister, Jess.The husband simply hugs his crazed wife and tells her that she may go.

Earlier that week, Sarah had been having flashbacks to her childhood. She would wake up in the middle of the night and open closet doors to find a rusty old yellow tent from Job Lot. She saw shadows inside the tent, but once she unzipped it, they were gone. With the suspenseful music still playing, multiple jump scares followed. Sarah is greeted by an unfriendly and creepy secretary at a local tour guide office, who refuses to take her on a tour in the Aokigahara Forest, where people go to commit suicide. Sarah is warned that the evil spirits in the forest will play with her mind and maybe even make her want to commit suicide herself.

One of the scariest moments was an old grandma in the hallway of Sarah’s hotel flicking the lights on and off. Her daughter said she was just “old,” but that was one plot line that needed to be explained. Then again, the whole movie is filled with unanswered questions.

After “settling” in, Sarah heads to a small restaurant to enjoy a traditional Japanese meal. She orders fish, which is still alive when the chef places the plate in front of her. On her right side, there are several mean school girls who snicker at Sarah’s reaction to the living fish and wait for her to dig in. That was a questionable move by the director. Speaking of weird Japanese foods, Kinney’s character, Aidan, offered Sarah a “power bar, Japanese version” several times throughout the film.

Aidan and Sarah end up spending the night in the forest in hopes of tracking down her sister after their “trusty” tour guide left them stranded. As the evening unfolds, Sarah pulls out a short book to read. This part was quite random because did Sarah really think that she would have time for pleasure reading in the middle of a forest? The guide said he would be back to find them by morning, but when he arrived at the yellow tent, they were nowhere to be found.

As the movie picks up, Sarah finds herself running endlessly through the forest. She falls through several sinkholes and somehow never breaks a bone. Despite sprinting and tripping, Sarah’s hair remains flawless.

At the end, her husband did not seem too concerned about his wife who was still in the forest. Jess was the one who made it out alive while her sister was pulled into the ground by ghosts. Perhaps he had true feelings for her sister the whole time. NOW that is a sequel we would pay to see.

Megan Brawner, Editor-in-Chief

Senior Megan Brawner is the Editor-in-Chief of the 2015-2016 Colonel. She is the captain of the cross country team and runs Indoor and Outdoor Track. She participates in Youth United for Global Action and Awareness (YUGA) Club and is the secretary of the Senior Class. She is the Editor of Key Club.

Leah Sheltry, Assistant Editor-in-Chief of The Colonel

Senior Leah Sheltry is the Assistant Editor-in-Chief of the 2015-2016 Colonel. She is the secretary of Youth United for Global Action and Awareness (YUGA) Club and is on the swim team.