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The Forest of Love

Play trailer Poster for The Forest of Love 2019 2h 31m Drama Horror Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
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100% Tomatometer 11 Reviews 56% Popcornmeter 50+ Ratings
A man uses his charisma to manipulate the people around him.
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The Forest of Love

Critics Reviews

View All (11) Critics Reviews
David Ehrlich indieWire An exuberant psychosexual blood-feast made by the kind of movie-obsessed madman whose irrepressible life force can only be expressed through a camera lens. Rated: B- Oct 14, 2019 Full Review Brian Tallerico RogerEbert.com There's something mesmerizing about the excess. Rated: 3/4 Oct 11, 2019 Full Review Pieter-Jan Van Haecke Psychocinematography It might not be an easy watch, but it is a compelling and emotional powerful exploration of the darkness of the human being and his sexuality. Aug 23, 2020 Full Review Yasser Medina Cinefilia It's a brutal thriller, full of gore and twisted characters, in which Sono establishes a kind of review of all his authorship and, at the same time, inspects the most sinister corners of human nature. [Full review in Spanish] Rated: 7/10 Jun 29, 2020 Full Review James Marsh South China Morning Post The Forest of Love offers a dizzying kaleidoscope of outrageous imagery and tangled flashbacks that will reward attentive viewers but may just as easily prove insufferable to the uninitiated or ill-prepared. Rated: 3/5 Apr 30, 2020 Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews It's an ultra-violent thriller about uniformed teenage school girls, a suicide pact, wannabe filmmakers, artistic creation turning evil, a conman and, of course, a serial killer. Rated: B- Dec 7, 2019 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (21) audience reviews
Matthew D If there was ever proof that the “critics” on here are complete tool bags the 100% critic score is it. The first half felt like it could be promising but the second half was over an hour of straight up superfluous violence that felt like a slow burn for the sake of trying to one up itself at every turn. It was way too long with little to no payoff. Am I repulsed and hate violent movies? No, Cold fish was a great film and one of Sono’s best imo. Do I hate long movies? No, Love exposure was over 4 hours long and I thought it was excellent. Sono definitely indulges in a lot of his movies and sometimes it works great but it just didn’t work for me in Forrest of Love. I would give this 1 star but as always in his films, the acting is very good and that’s why it gets 2. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 09/14/24 Full Review William D Kippei Shima does a great job in the con man role, but I can't bring myself to recommend this one. The violence and depravity feel more gratuitous than profound. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 04/09/23 Full Review Gian P This movie was a complete and total mindfuck with a twist. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 03/06/23 Full Review Joe C Dark doesn't begin to describe it, creepy not in a horror movie way but in a "How could regular people do this?" way. There are scenes of shocking violence conducted without passion, making them even scarier. The main manipulative character is rather a Japanese Rasputin or Mesmer, twisting the innocent by sheer force of will. An ugly spectacle, I had enjoyed Sion Sono's more recent "Prisoners of the Ghostland" and wanted to dig deeper. I think I'm done. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/17/22 Full Review Audience Member ) The worst movie I've seen in years! Brutal violence, mainly against women mixed with popular sexual fantasies (girls in uniforms or in underwear). This is so sickening. It's no even sadomasochism, it's more like a mix of brutality with reward that everybody enjoys and try to drag you to do it too. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review Audience Member Good Lord that's 2 hours of my life I'll not get back. Supposedly based on a true series of events which makes it even more insufferable. Why was this made? Rated 1 out of 5 stars 01/28/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Forest of Love

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Cast & Crew

Movie Info

Synopsis A man uses his charisma to manipulate the people around him.
Director
Sion Sono
Producer
Gustavo Borner
Screenwriter
Sion Sono
Production Co
Netflix
Genre
Drama, Horror, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
Japanese
Release Date (Streaming)
Oct 11, 2019
Runtime
2h 31m
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