The Forest Hills

"The Forest Hills" (2023), directed by Scott Goldberg, is a cinematic experience that transcends the traditional boundaries of the horror genre. This film, which marks the return of the legendary Shelley Duvall, is a testament to the enduring power of storytelling and the indomitable spirit of its cast. Set against the backdrop of the hauntingly beautiful Catskill Mountains, the film follows the journey of Rico, portrayed with a raw intensity that leaves the audience breathless. The narrative is a labyrinth of emotions, as Rico descends into a madness that is as terrifying as it is captivating. The film's strength lies in its ability to blend elements of drama, horror, and thriller into a cohesive narrative that keeps the audience on the edge of their seats. The performances are nothing short of stellar, with Edward Furlong delivering a performance that is both powerful and nuanced. However, it is Shelley Duvall who truly shines in this film. Her portrayal of 'Mama' is a masterclass in acting, bringing a depth and complexity to the character that is truly remarkable. This film marks Duvall's return to the silver screen after a hiatus of over 20 years, and her performance is a poignant reminder of her incredible talent.

"The Forest Hills" is a film that deserves an 8/10 rating. It is a compelling narrative that is beautifully shot and superbly acted. However, it is more than just a film. It is a tribute to the enduring talent of Shelley Duvall, who recently passed away. Duvall, best known for her roles in "The Shining" and "Popeye," was a force to be reckoned with in the film industry. Her death is a profound loss for the world of cinema, but her legacy lives on through her remarkable body of work. In "The Forest Hills," Duvall gave one of her most memorable performances, reminding us of her extraordinary talent and her unique ability to bring characters to life. Her performance in this film is a fitting tribute to her incredible career and a testament to her enduring talent.

As we mourn the loss of this cinematic icon, "The Forest Hills & The Shining" serves as a poignant reminder of Duvall's indomitable spirit and her unparalleled contribution to the world of cinema. Rest in peace, Shelley Duvall. Your legacy will continue to inspire and captivate audiences for generations to come.

I was excited to see Shelly's last performance. That excitement ended within about 2 minutes of watching the movie. The acting is terrible, the writing is nonsensical, and there's not much positive to say about this movie. There were 3 other people in the theater. They walked out about 20 minutes into it. My wife and I followed suit about 10 mins after they walked out. I can't recall the last time I walked out of a movie.

I'm saddened that this is Shelly's last movie. She was a wonderful actor, and she deserved so much more.

This movie goes to show that big names do not equate to a good movie. .

After hearing of her cancer prognosis, her son begins caring for her to help bond over their final moments together which only results in a spiraling session where his mental deterioration state manages to get him in bigger trouble than he expected due to the lack of care he receives.

This was a generally troubling indie effort. Among its better aspects is the solid psychological build-up of the estranged relationship at the core of the film that's slowly unveiled within this one. As we get bits about the relationship between him and his mother that starts bringing about the idea of the psychological issues within him as well and we get further scenes involving his feverish beliefs in him being a werewolf that inflicts his entire life. With that spurred on by a traumatic incident itself and slowly causing his life to spiral rapidly with plenty of different examples brought about by his interactions with family or a mental-help support group that only further his mindset and condition. Knowing what we do about him throughout the film and how everything sets off a murderous instinct within him, the bloodsoaked rampage in the final half makes a lot of sense involving some graphic moments as his snapped behavior sets everything in motion. However, there's one main overriding factor against it in that these have to be done to a figure that we're sympathetic to and care about for everything to have the most impact. Here, we never get that with a rushed setup with everything taking place at such a rapid onslaught of imagery and setpieces that it's impossible to get a handle on what's going on as the interactions with his mom come out of nowhere and have little emotional resonance to them immediately getting introduced to an antagonistic relationship that has no stakes. It doesn't make much of an effort to introduce anything sympathetic about him or explain away the horrific visions and hallucinations he suffers from so everything simply hangs around with little rhyme or motivation since everything is so ambiguous about being real or in his head. Had this been given a more proper introduction at the start, there would've been more of an impact as his mental stage constantly deteriorates the longer he goes on so this context goes a long way towards helping this one out.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Language and Graphic Violence.

The Forest Hills is little more than another forgettable, incredibly amateurishly-made horror film that does nothing to separate itself apart from countless other microbudget horror movies you'll find on Plex or Roku.

Admittedly, the only reason you've heard of this one is because it features Edward Furlong, Dee Wallace, Felissa Rose and Shelley Duvall in the final role of her career (and her first role in twenty years). Duvall is honestly the highlight, portraying a sympathetic character with natural charisma during very brief time on screen. But as for the rest of the movie, it was such a scattershot vision with no clear direction.

This movie was lost on whether it wanted to be a genuine horror movie or some kind of Lovecraftian fan fiction and it failed to ever stay on any of the paths it tried to set itself upon. The result was scattered, unfocused, talkative, slow and worst of all boring. And even at a brief 79 minutes it felt all too long, so I couldn't even make it to the end.

This is not a good movie. The actors in this movie are not good. There are some famous names in this movie. They do not do a good job. Some people rated this movie 10 stars. These are not smart people. 10 stars means this movie is almost perfect, a classic like The Godfather, ET, Jaws, etc. This movie is nowhere close to any of those.

This feels like a totally amateur affair. This is not always a bad thing but, in this case, it is. The concept is fine and I actually like the idea, but the execution is a bit off. Even the performances of the seasoned actors are flat and uninspired. The special effects are decent enough but it's not enough to make this worth watching.