Starring Shelley Duvall, Edward Furlong and Dee Wallace
Directed by Scott Goldberg
Written by Scott Goldberg and Scott B. Hansen
My Way Pictures
By CHRIS HALLOCK
Soundly executed psychological horror can supply deeply penetrating cinematic fright. The genre’s most affecting works blur the line between fantasy and reality featuring sympathetic protagonists haunted by the mind’s inescapable demons. This is the territory where Scott Goldberg’s THE FOREST HILLS operates, a grisly work of rubber reality steeped in ambiguity and hallucinatory terror. Goldberg’s film functions as a serial killer origin story by-way-of-werewolf mythology and is fueled by macabre imagery evoking mental anguish in monstrous physical form. Goldberg’s approach isn’t entirely successful, but the director’s ambition and commitment to the bleak material is commendable.
The story follows Rico (Chiko Mendez), a tormented man who returns home to care for his estranged mother (Shelley Duvall) who is stricken with terminal cancer. There he confronts painful childhood memories while navigating mental health issues stemming from a string of past traumatic encounters. Rico is plagued by nightmarish visions of slaughter perpetrated by a terrifying masked killer, and believes he’s being stalked by a fearsome werewolf. Consoled by his close friend Billy (Edward Furlong), Rico confronts the darker aspects buried in his psyche. The escalating visions seemingly manifest in the flesh, destroying the people in Rico’s sphere. Rico fortifies himself to ward off these monstrous forms, but a rapidly eroding mental state obscures his role as victim or victimizer.
Mendez’s portrayal of Rico forgoes nuance but is nonetheless captivating. The actor’s uninhibited approach to his character’s fraying sanity is delivered with abandon. Goldberg surrounds Mendez with a star-studded cast, including the return of Shelley Duvall from a twenty-year absence after her own publicized mental health struggles led to her exit from the film industry. Although Duvall’s screen time is brief, her undeniable charisma and commanding presence provides a solemn grounding to the film’s chaotic proceedings. The beloved actor looks confident in front of the camera, and fans had hoped her involvement signaled a permanent homecoming. That dream has sadly faded with the legendary performer’s recent passing back in July. While Duvall’s involvement grabs the headlines, the rest of the veteran talent, including the fabulous Dee Wallace, Felissa Rose, Edward Furlong, Marianne Hagan and Stacy Nelkin each deliver solid performances in their limited roles.
THE FOREST HILLS unfolds with an unwieldy energy that makes it challenging to negotiate. The narrative moves between lucid and phantasmagoric moments that would have benefitted from a more seamless integration of its disparate parts rather than the jarring and unfocused blend that binds it. While this construction serves purpose as a storytelling mode conveyed through an unreliable protagonist, the haphazard framework may frustrate some viewers who prefer a neatly contained story. This technique is effective, however, in translating Rico’s disturbed psyche into a shocking and grotesque cinematic space for the viewer to inhabit. Most importantly, Goldberg does not shy away from splattering blood and grue across the frames in the visual representation of Rico’s mental collapse.
Although THE FOREST HILLS lacks cohesion, Goldberg’s commitment to pure horror offers rewards for viewers open to accepting its messier aspects. The film’s Catskill, NY setting is a stunning landscape in which to set its conflicted players. The film boasts startling sequences of bloodletting, and an impressive (although fleetingly photographed) werewolf created by a talented makeup effects team using practical effects. Goldberg uses his metaphorical monsters to convey troubling themes plaguing his protagonist, including emotional trauma, familial abandonment and survivor’s guilt. Rico serves as a vehicle of accumulated mental trauma encompassing the many ways a mind can be assailed, whether it be exposure to harmful chemicals, head injury, drug use or emotional trauma. While the film’s handling of mental illness mainly works for eliciting horrific fantasy, there is a sense that Goldberg is sensitive to its reality.
Ultimately, this horror piece shows promise in Goldberg, particularly if the director continues to refine his storytelling technique. The compelling imagery, Mendez’s unhinged performance and Shelley Duvall’s last onscreen appearance offers enough to recommend THE FOREST HILLS to curious fans willing to sift through its disordered parts to get to the bloody goods.
THE FOREST HILLS is now available to rent or purchase on most major streaming platforms.
