Director: Jimmy Henderson
Year: 2016
Country: Cambodia
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Supernatural
Plot:
Living in a remote village, a group of villagers keeping themselves separated from the rest of society finds a strange woman who shows up in their midst to initially be either a blessing or a curse as they suddenly experience a slew of bad fortunate the longer she's among the group.
Review:
This one definitely emerges with some enjoyable qualities. The main story here is quite intriguing, for it mixes together a lot of fine elements together into an interesting whole. The combination of fantasy and horror present through this is quite fascinating. Offering a form of fairy-tale setup with the history of the village and their form of isolation, the initial appearance of the stranger in their lives causes a real stir in the community. The initial manner of how their fortunes change, from the seemingly positive like the influx of rain following a drought to the more malicious including adultery and even death, slowly starts to weave through the film. These early scenes slowly turn into the more destructive side with the torrential rainstorms and the overall treatment afforded to the others that range from having their fingers bitten off or finding their food tainted, leading to the fantastic scene of the whole village succumbing to the poisoning. That the fantasy elements lead into the horror here gives this a strong punch overall.
Likewise, there's a lot to like here with the film's technical qualities. Director Henderson also was his own cinematographer here to capture a series of strikingly beautiful and gorgeous shots. The sweeping panorama scenes of the forest where they live are vast and majestic which is a real enhancement to the film's overall look. There's a beauty to the rainforest present throughout here that adds immensely to the quality of the film with a strong production style. Even affording the momentary inserts of animals flapping in the background or the briefer moments showing the tranquility of the village, the cinematography creates a nice series of setups that are impressive. Even the low-key manner of the film's deliberate pacing and fine professional sheen gives this a fine appeal, making 'The Forest Whispers' look far more grandiose and impressive than it really should.
The actors here are another fine point in the film's technical qualities. Lead Lida Duch is quite impressive here billed only as The Stranger. A mute with no dialog, her smoldering looks, and outsider nature immediately put her at odds with the more unkempt locals around her. The audience is never really sure what she is and her point there as the events really do seem like accidents and coincidences which goes against their superstitious nature which only adds to her character. The one local who sides with her, being named only as Farmer Son and played by Dara Our, does fine but really can't compare to Lida. His quiet and humble nature makes him seem far more reserved than the rest of the villagers and it leaves him rather underwhelming. The fact that he's somewhat maligned and continually set up around the village to be the one everyone feels is the responsible party despite his innocence doesn't help him as the frustration he feels is a part of the matter. The rest of the villagers, despite not being named, are quite effective in their roles and really have a lived-in feeling within the rainforest around them that really sells this as being an authentic piece.
While it has a lot to really like, there are a few minor flaws here. The main piece to hold it back is the overall ambiguity that affects the main girl. Trying to keep this one setup over if she's a blessing or a curse upon them means the actual threats against the village are kept to a realistic level. From famine and damaged crops to torrential, nonending rainstorms that befall them, none of these are really that determining of her supernatural origins. It's hard to really tell if The Stranger is because none of them are really that telling as being supernatural in origin and very easily can be normal situations or coincidences. That leads this one into not containing that strong a horror outline as it's quite hard to believe that this is a damaging figure among them. As well, some of the performances are a touch overdone and cartoonish which don't mesh well with the realistic setup featured here, but overall it's not that damaging overall.
Overview: ***.5/5
While it doesn't have too many overall flaws here, they are somewhat damaging and lower this one only slightly enough as it still has quite a lot to rise it up quite nicely. This is rather recommended for those looking to expand their Asian fantasy or horror cinema from the usual confines as this will nicely appeal to fans of those efforts, while those that can't handle the type of fare featured here will probably want to heed caution.
This review was originally published on Asian Movie Pulse and is gratefully reprinted with their cooperation.
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