More often than not, psychological torment and werewolf horror go hand in hand. Becoming one of these howling, hirsute monsters of the night is no easy experience, physically or emotionally speaking. And in The Forest Hills, Scott Goldberg taps into that anguish and then some with both enthusiasm and awkwardness. The movie’s protagonist endures the most monstrous manifestation of his internal nightmare. Chaotic storytelling and imagery are instrumental in achieving such an upsetting outcome, but they also make for a challenging watch.
Chiko Mendez plays Rico, a man whose current station in life has only exacerbated his mental distress. Rico has since returned home to care for his estranged and ill mother, who is played by the late Shelley Duvall. Their relationship is turbulent, to say the least. And the carnage and disorder that soon follow are undeniably influenced by that dysfunction. Duvall’s character impacts the whole movie, in spite of the fact that she, much like several other recognizable genre actors here (Edward Furlong, Felissa Rose), had a limited role.
What immediately jumps out about The Forest Hills is its disjointedness. The story aptly matches the jumbled mess that is in Rico’s head. Scenes come and go as fast as a coin flip, so trying to grasp any understanding of what all is happening on screen can be a real chore. Viewer fatigue slips in as Goldberg jumps from one abrasive moment to another. If the goal was to viscerally illustrate a discordant mind, then the movie is successful on that front.
Those expecting a conventional horror movie will have to look elsewhere. Especially if they came here for a werewolf story. The beast is intermittently shown, usually as an indication of Rico’s rapidly declining mental health. Ambiguity is this movie’s constant ally early on, but The Forest Hills does land in more grounded territory once the smoke starts to clear toward the end.
Mendez delivers an intense performance. There is no argument there. However, it’s not a nuanced one, and the execution won’t always yield the desired response (if the response is anything but uncomfortable laughter). Then there is the treatment of Rico in his frazzled state. On one hand, his breakdown is made certain. On the other, you’re not ever completely sure if the movie is actually making light of Rico’s ordeal or not. This is due to the direction, which can be so indelicate at times that it borders on comical.
As far as coherence goes, The Forest Hills always struggles. The narrative turmoil just becomes excruciating after a point — and that’s sooner than later — and it never lets up. This feels more like an endurance test than a movie, and not in a rewarding way either. There is a small attempt to break up the pattern and bring some semblance of cohesion, yet even those few moments are stricken with the same emotional and blaring severity as others. If every scene is operating at a 10, then surely the entire thing starts to feel monotonous.
As a result, nothing quite sticks out here, apart from the constant confusion.
The Forest Hills is on Digital/VOD now, and on physical media on October 29.
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