825 Forest Road

825 Forest Road could have been a great horror movie with a few more script re-writes. There are a handful of great scares, and interesting relationships between the three main characters. You can expect that the creators of Hell House made the most out of the mannequin in this film. Unfortunately, the script also suffers from some significant flaws. For instance, there are only about four characters in the story who actually matter. Many of the side characters could have easily been written out of the story. The Gardening Club, realtor, and the opening scene characters didn't serve a relevant purpose. There are also often times when the writing makes basic story elements confusing. As an example, It took me awhile to realize that Ashley and Isabel were different characters. Finally and most importantly, the ending leaves a lot to be desired. Despite these flaws, I would recommend watching 825 Forest Road. Just don't expect the next Shining, or even the next Insidious.

A town plagued by suicides; lights mysteriously turning on at night; a sinister figure appearing in the background; objects moving by themselves; a creepy mannequin named Martha: for what is essentially a series of well-worn horror clichés, 825 Forest Road is actually a surprisingly entertaining movie, Hellhouse LLC director Stephen Cognetti achieving an unsettling atmosphere and a couple of genuinely good jump scares.

The story is told in four chapters, one from the perspective of each of the three main characters - Chuck (Joe Falcone), his wife Maria (Elizabeth Vermilyea) and his younger sister Isabelle (Kathryn Miller), who have just moved from the city to the suburban town of Ashland Falls - and a final chapter which ties everything up.

Not long after moving in, the new arrivals begin to experience strange, inexplicable, and terrifying occurrences and learn that the town harbours a dark secret; the only way to stop the horror is to find the home of Helen Foster, a resident of Ashland Falls who committed suicide years ago, and burn the property to the ground.

The pace is gradual, and the repetition of events from different points of view may prove tedious for some, but the whole thing builds to a satisfying final act that definitely delivers the goosebumps and a few decent surprises. Admittedly, the style and execution doesn't exactly scream innovation, but if it's an hour and a half of spooky fun that you're after, you could still do a lot worse than this.

6.5/10, rounded up to 7 for IMDb.

I can see why this movie is somewhat divisive. There ARE indeed some good elements in it like one reviewer stated in his/her title.

I would say what really props up this movie at all is the tense atmosphere. The acting overall is decent, not as cringeworthy as many of these modern day Horror films.

I personally like the approach when you have this small, rural town where everyone knows something is not right. That aspect I thought was done very well.

I just don't feel that there was quite enough substance and weight truly to carry the story as well as it should have been. There were definitely instances of genuine creepiness, but perhaps if the writing/plot could have been thought out a bit more thoroughly, I think it really could have been a lot better.

Yes, many good elements are there, but I think maybe a bit more skill was needed to bring it together and really make it much more strongly effective and powerful to the audience.

I was torn between giving it a '5' or a '6', but in considering the sum of everything, I ended up with a '5' So, there is some entertainment value here, but ultimately I honestly feel it is a bit too flawed to be called really good.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MY PARTICULAR WAY OF RATING:

5 - Flawed, but with some entertainment value.

6. A decently passable story maybe worth a watch.

7. A solid film, well made, effective, and entertaining.

And, obviously, you can probably figure out what above and below these would mean... : )

It begins well with a suitably creepy opening with a zoom call between two girls, there is an ambient ' Silent Hill' small town vibe (and the town looks lush) which always appeals to me in any horror film.

Rather than the usual blood/gore this acts as a quiet sometimes reflective horror about dark past secrets. It reminded me of Ti West's ' The Innkeepers' and John Irvin's Ghost Story.

It has a few effective creepy scenes-the piano scene being one of them.

What lets it down is I couldn't take the character ' Isabel' looking way older than she is. She clearly looks mid 20s tops, so when he brother asks her how she is getting on at school I just laughed.

The scares, although well done, were signposted way too soon. The creepy doll (Mia lookalike!!) was put into frame once the camera panned either left or right and a movement by the ghost in the background was an ill judged piece of mis-direction.

The various POVs were unsubtle and added nothing to proceedings as a whole and the ' teenage' love interest was the usual tedious ' tick box' exercise so prevalent in movies nowadays- and they had zero chemistry.

It's one of those films that could have been better and shows how old I've become in seeing where and when the scares come along; however if either Elsie and Molly want a old fashioned ghost story I would recommend.

Creepy indie film. Kind of an abrupt ending without much explanation, but you still get the overall idea and plot. This director creeped me out with the "Hell House LLC" movies when they were released, but this didn't really live up to that creepiness, but still worth a watch!

The movie has a new refreshing buildup method, and it gives you new perspectives that you don't see in a horror movie very often. I thought this way of telling a story was good and also entertaining.

The bad reviews are just people wanting some high budget horror with known/ famous actors. Sooo if you find yourself liking indie horror, then watch this!