Found footage films generally have a lower bar to reach, and at that, Into the Forest definitely has a more than commendable attempt at being better than the standard found footage film.
But there are still some issues to point out here.
Good found footage, and good horror in general, either have annoying characters for the sake of comedic relief or for some satisfaction when they die a brutal death. I've brought up the annoying character issue in my review of The Girl in Cabin 13, which has some of the same people involved, but it really needs to be mentioned here as well. It's fine to have an annoying side character, because it adds some comedic relief, but to have an annoying protagonist is not great, especially in modern horror, where the viewer expects a bit more out of the characters. Always, always flesh your characters out. Give them some soul and spark. Out of the three main characters, only one is really interesting, and she doesn't have as much screen time as she should. A solid base for the characters is important in any storytelling medium, but Into the Forest doesn't quite have that. The writing is better than The Girl in Cabin 13, especially in terms of the dialogue, but it still needs a lot of finetuning. This isn't meant as a knock on what has been set up, but there is definitely unrealized potential here........ The story hits most of the same territory and tropes as most found footage set in a forest, but the pacing is faster than expected. For the most part, the story is decent enough and pushes along quite nicely, but I do feel like it doesn't do enough to stand out among the many, many, many found footage films with similar ideas and concepts. Too much feels familiar to concepts and ideas that have been done to death in many, many different ways........ Granted, it is difficult to make found footage content stand out when pretty much everything has already been done, but found footage is also that subgenre where you feel that satisfaction if you're that one in a thousand that makes that stand-out content. There was definitely potential here for that, but it didn't quite hit that mark....... Visually there's more polish and flair than the typical found footage. There's definitely visual strength at hand, and the look punches above its budget for some truly great content. I found nothing wrong with the approach to the look of the film, with some above-average cinematography on display and a good overall aesthetic.
While the visuals are definitely strong, especially during dark scenes, the writing and acting just weren't where they needed to be. Some interesting ideas here, but further polish was definitely needed for Into the Forest to realize its potential.
