Natalie Dormer is one of those actors that I always write off because I’m not sure if she is a good actress or just British. It’s a fine line. However, in this film she has to use an American accent and a DIFFERENT American accent because she is playing her own twin. So be warned: the “good twin” annunciated way too much and the “bad twin” has vocal fry. So that’s how you tell the difference.

This movie also has Taylor Kinney who I can confirm is not a good actor, but every horror movie needs a handsome person who smiles too much, right? Like way too much. He’s kind of creepy. Wait…maybe he IS a good actor. Or he’s NOT acting. Dangit.

Anyways, this plot involves the good twin, Sara, getting a call that her sister has been lost in a Japanese forest and no one has found her body. Sara, using her “twin-sense” knows that although her sister (Jess), is a sad individual, she is still alive and just missing. Sara hops on a plane and heads to Japan to go on a very fucked-up forest bathing session. Not all trees are good.

This movie is an “American” introduction to the Aokigahara Forest, if you haven’t read up recently on your foreign suicide sites. The stories surrounding this area are extremely sad and heartbreaing. Folklore indicates the forest might be full of demons, or more scientifically, a very high mineral content in the trees/water/soil. I don’t know much about iron deposits, but I can’t imagine it’s good for one’s body if you spend too much time around it. And also it fucks up compasses and electronics, according to this movie. I don’t know if that’s true, but I also don’t know how Taylor Kinney keeps getting jobs. Mysteries exist.

Sara finally makes it to an inn right near the forest and finds out you can’t just wander into the forest alone looking for your missing twin, no matter how strong your “twin-sense” is. She meets Aiden (Taylor Kinney) who promises to help her as long as he can do a story about her. He’s a “travel journalist.” To put her at ease, he invites along Michi, a local guide who’s job it is to go into the forest and find the bodies so the authorities can retrieve them.

Michi explains about the forest’s history and why it’s important to remain on the trail and not stay after dark. He also warns Sara that the voices and visions she may encounter are not real and should be ignored. He is hesitant about bringing her anywhere, because she’s very sad. Imagine if your Uber driver did this when he picked you up: Nope, too sad. Out my car, don’t need your negative vibes bringing down my rating.

Michi reluctantly agrees though, probably so he doesn’t have to go looking for this white girl’s body in a couple days. It’s probably a lot of extra paperwork when it’s a foreigner. And he is absolutely right to go with her because Sara is possibly the WORST person to bring on a hike. Her clothes look like she’s going to Target instead of nature. She brings no water or food, no flashlight. She doesn’t bring anything useful, not even a first aid kit. I have a first aid kit with me all the time, and I only go to Target and Trader Joe’s. Shit happens.

OF COURSE, of course she finds her sister’s empty tent and wants to stay in the woods. Aiden says sure why not. Michi is like, nope. Enjoy your tree demons, I’m out. See you in the morning. Obviously we are now in the territory that travelers’ insurance will not cover, but Sara is stubborn and refuses to leave the forest without her sister. As the night and next morning go on, you realize that Jess is the “bad twin” because she witnessed the deaths of her parents by murder-suicide, and Sara did not. Aiden may or may not be using this against her to get her to go further into the forest. I can’t tell if Aiden is smart or lucky. Either way, Sara was dumb to go on this journey with him just because he is white and smiles a lot.

Sara starts to see and hear the visions Michi warned her about, but only chooses to ignore some of them. She eagerly invites in the demons who may look friendly but are somehow bilingual. Which is good, because Sara didn’t try to learn any Japanese even though her sister has been working in Japan for years and she kept promising to visit. Hindsight is 20/20 I guess. Iron-induced hallucinations are also 20/20.

The jump scares and hallucinations are possibly the worst part of this movie and the ending is so sad. I don’t know why horror movies need to be so sad. I also wish they made up a different name for the forest. Granted it wasn’t filmed there (it was filmed in Serbia, which I’m sure has it’s own cache of demons, as any landlocked country would), but the tourism that surrounds death sites always boggles my mind. I understand the need to learn about the culture in Japan, but this movie just made me feel gross at the end. I can only hope it doesn’t inspire someone to go find this place just for the ‘Gram. And I can only hope no one ever, ever goes on a nature hike with Taylor Kinney.