THE FOREST is a surprising treat that not only has some star turns from Dormer (yes, multiple roles for the GAME OF THRONES and THE TUDORS star) but holds a story of a desperate struggle that keeps you enticed until the very end.

When news of her twin sister, Jess (Natalie Dormer) has gone missing reaches Sarah (Natalie Dormer) she heads to Japan to seek the truth to her disappearance. Learning she was last seen heading towards the infamous suicide hotspot of Aokigahara Forest, the worst is feared and Sarah racing against time, must protect not only her sister, but her sanity against what the forest has to offer.

What is refreshing about THE FOREST is its authenticity to tell a story of a foreign place and share that with the audience. Sarah's isolated journey is only shared by a journalist who latches onto the native tongue of the lead, encouraging her search to much dismay.

In a time when American remakes of Eastern classics have become a somewhat throwaway instant cash grab for movie studios, it's rewarding to see a film where the eastern influence and American experience of the film-makers is shared bringing something original yet familiar to the market. Rather than taking a story and rebranding it as English language, the screenwriters take inspiration and play a stranger in a strange land, an experience felt by the audience and stars alike. While the film shares much in tone with other eastern features such as TALE OF TWO SISTERS or ACACIA where the real scares are the psychological human emotions rather than the ghosts beyond the trees.

Natalie Dormer first lead role proves once more she is a powerhouse of an actress playing both of the twins to good effect. Her performance as Sarah carries the film and her believable performance drives the emotional journey to its unexpected closure.

While never straying too far from the genre's classic formula, Zada never overdoes any of the suspense or twists to an extent that even the apparition of the supernatural habitants of the forest become one with the story. The reality of a missing person and the haunting events never seem overdone or too obscure as to make the events farcical as many similar movies do so.

While the film is limited of scares, it effectively invents itself as a American/Eastern hybrid that marries both cultures to great effect. Its J-Horror influence will be familiar with any movie goer familiar with the genres ability to share a darker side to humanity released in the form of the supernatural yet still have a lead whose western culture is unflattered by the lack of technology in a world where there seems a greater divide between nature and urban jungles.

Interestingly, Jason Zada couldn't be further away from last year's THE HOUSES THAT OCTOBER BUILT, sharing a bigger budget, effective lighting (or lack of) and a story that hones in on the heart of its central character rather than the spirits in the forest that could have been a much scarier experience, albeit one that lacked heart. All of which is not to say THE FOREST is not without its fair share of atmosphere, making it a well packaged horror and a platform for its lead star to shine.

Yet even more intriguing is an extra layer to the story that gives the  film a whole new breathe of life and one that reinvents the film completely. Read our feature LOST IN THE FOREST as we unearth a new theory into the complexities of the films plot and shine a light on a film that is much more than first appears. WARNING: Contains spoilers!