Horror movies have always used ghosts, vampires, zombies, and the most grotesque monsters that can be imagined by the human mind to talk about something that’s personal to the storyteller or a bigger societal issue. Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror was about immigration. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (the ‘56 one) was about fascism. The Exorcist was about religion. Heck, even Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday was about family ties. That said, while there was some semblance of balance between the themes and the gore, with budding filmmakers spending their limited budgets on the latter to at least give the people some cheap thrills, the rising popularity of what’s called “elevated horror” has shifted the scales. Now you have low-budget horror flicks using their money on “bettering” their social commentary instead of spending it on sticky special effects and gnarly visual effects. Of course, you have exceptions like Terrifier, Mad God, and Psycho Goreman, but there’s an overwhelming amount of projects trying to ape the success of Get Out, It Follows, and The Witch. 825 Forest Road is one such example that tries so hard to say something about trauma that it forgets to induce terror or horror.
Stephen Cognetti’s 825 Forest Road tells the story of Chuck, his wife, Maria, and his sister, Isabelle. Chuck and Isabelle’s mother used to suffer from depression, and her death has traumatized her children, with Isabelle being more affected by the incident than Chuck. So, in order to get away from the source of their psychological wounds and to move closer to Isabelle’s college and Chuck’s workplace, the family moves to a seemingly quaint town called Ashton Falls. Maria isn’t particularly excited about this decision because she has to travel 2 hours to get to the city and keep her fashion business going, but she does it anyway for the sake of Chuck and Isabelle’s mental health. However, it doesn’t take long for the trio to understand that not only is their house haunted, but the whole town is suffering from some kind of unseen affliction as well. While Maria stays busy with her work and Isabelle with her classes, Chuck dives headfirst into the history of Ashton Falls and the story of a woman named Helen Foster. And the more he searches for the source of the suburban area’s issues, the worse things get for him and his family.
Cognetti wants to talk about collective apathy in 825 Forest Road and how it can cause the deterioration of an entire town. He wants to comment on how it’s important to get proper help so that you can control your depression and anxiety before they begin to control you. And I think he also tries to deal with the concept of urban legends or a “tulpa” by showing that the boogeyman—or boogeywoman, in this case—is as real as you want it to be. As if that’s not enough, Cognetti uses the Rashomon method to analyze all of these topics from three different vantage points. Sadly, the issue that he runs into is that none of these subjects have a lot of depth here, and repeatedly tackling them from different angles just makes the shallowness of it all the more obvious. Also, we’ve seen better movies explore these themes in a more robust fashion. ParaNorman is a great film about a cursed town. It’d be wrong to not bring up The Amityville Horror while discussing a haunted house film centered around mental health. Then there are Candyman and The Empty Man, which are probably two of the best horror films on tulpas. If you have watched them, you’re going to find Cognetti’s story to be really derivative.
825 Forest Road is extremely boring, but for a very odd reason: it tries too hard to show the ghost. And I think the film would’ve been better if it never revealed what or who was affecting the town. You see, one of the most heavily discussed horror films (it’s been categorized as a thriller, but I think it’s a horror movie) is Cellar Door. The premise of that film is pretty simple. A couple gets a massive (it’s palatial) house for a really cheap price, and the catch is that they can’t open the door to the cellar. The family nearly comes apart at the seams for a variety of reasons, but it’s never revealed if their curiosity was the cause of their undoing, or if it was the work of something malevolent residing in the cellar. Hence, you are compelled to think about so many things way after the credits are done rolling. In Cognetti’s case, he doesn’t leave anything open to interpretation. He explicitly underscores everything with some of the worst VFX and SFX you’ve ever seen. Since those visuals clash heavily with the uber-somber approach to the subject matter, you’re unable to take any of it seriously. Either go full Cellar Door or go full Evil Dead; don’t do this middle-of-the-road stuff.
The performances in 825 Forest Road are fantastic and hence the only saving grace of this film. Joe Falcone has such an understated screen presence. He makes Chuck feel like such a relatable guy that you can’t help but feel for him when he unknowingly causes everything to spiral out of control. He portrays Chuck in such a likable way that you want to reach out to him through the screen and tell him to just do his music lessons and not search for the titular location. Kathryn Miller is excellent. The way she oscillates between Isabelle’s urge to internalize all her emotions and her efforts to communicate properly with her brother and sister-in-law is really great. That said, the one who undoubtedly steals the show is Elizabeth Vermilyea. She pulls off that city girl vibe perfectly. The subtle changes in her persona when she “acts for the camera” and converses with her loved ones are brilliant. And since she is so demure and shy throughout the film, she will surprise you in the third act. Madeleine Garcia, Darin F. Earl II, Monica Fleurette, Joe Bandelli, and the rest of the supporting cast were splendid. They deserve to be in better films than this.
Even though I haven’t given 825 Forest Road a high rating, it’s not like I hate it or anything. I was just bloody bored watching it. So, if you are okay with a strange mix of jump scares, psychological horror, and utter blandness, please, feel free to give the movie a try. Don’t let me stop you. Cognetti is the mind behind the Hell House LLC franchise. If you are a fan of those movies, I think you’ll be curious to check this out. But don’t say that nobody warned you it was going to be a snooze-fest. And finally, I think we should start phasing out this “elevated horror” trend and find that balance between schlock and social commentary again. Yes, I still want the genre to be synonymous with stories that shed light on the issues that are plaguing us on a personal or a global level. However, I also want a decent serving of blood, gore, guts, and the wettest special effects known to mankind to go along with it. At the very least, it’s going to cover up the flaws in the storytelling, as I’ll be too busy screaming my head off at someone getting dismembered in the most morbidly hilarious fashion.
