THE FOREST DARK is a supernatural thriller feature film project in advanced development.
VISION
A story about cosmic horror, the movie aims to let audiences experience the otherworld in the cinema.
The project probes the boundaries of genres such as forest horror, the supernatural, and science-fiction.
It is a story raising fundamental questions about existence.
The Forest Dark challenges our traditional idea of fiction and genre movie.
PRODUCTION
THE FOREST DARK is part of THEFORESTDARK.COM. It’s an answer to the fundamental change that digital transition means for the film industry by developing a platform on the web long before the production begins.
It’s a lower-budget feature film project that uses any available digital technologies to create virtual realities.
FOREST HORROR STORIES often get made on location. This project envisions using mixed reality scenarios employing Unreal Engine and other virtual production tools.
THE FOREST DARK is set to be an international English language project set in a US-Location.
MARKETING
THE FOREST DARK is a promising project with strong potential in the tradition of a long line of successful folk horror and genre films as THE RITUAL, IN THE EARTH, THE FOREST classics such as THE STONE TAPE, BLAIR WITCH and EVIL DEAD and recent releases as THE HALLOW, THE WITCH, GAIA and ANTLERS.
Like STRANGER THINGS, TWIN PEAKS or ZONE BLANCHE the screenplay is inspired by the great masters of the literature of horror and the supernatural as H.P. LOVECRAFT or Algernoon Blackwood.
STORY
BARBARA, 30ties, gets a long-distance call deep in the night from her family who lives in a backwood community far away from the next big city. She left the family already with 18 after a mysterious accident in the woods. Since that time, she has had a complicated relationship with her mother. Barbara is a convinced rationalist whereas her mother has become a mix of Christian fundamentalist and New-age-believer. Now her mother is calling for help and asks her to come home because Barbara’s younger sister ROSLIN disappeared together with her girlfriend PATRICIA deep in the mysterious primaeval forest.
Barbara returns to the world of her childhood which appears to her like another world, trapped in the past and with superstition alive…
Teaming with her former boyfriend and now chief of the police our hero comes across the local legends haunting the impenetrable forest of this mountain village for a long time. Mysterious disappearances, mountain lights, and strange encounters created a zone in the National Park where nothing is as it seems. To find the missing, they need to trust a guide with a mysterious past. However, none of them isprepared for what they find and for an experience that goes beyond what the human mind can process.
History
THE FOREST DARK goes back a long way. As a writer and filmmaker, I wanted something unique. Something we haven’t seen before. And most important: I take FOREST HORROR serious. Don’t repeat movies we have seen before. I was always convinced that forest horror lore isn’t just made up. This was the beginning of a long journey deep into research.
The project provoked very different reactions from the early stages. These strong responses made it even more interesting and encouraged me to do something which bridges the gap between spirit and materialistic worldview. It also became clear that grasping the themes of the movie project requires long-term development and a unique approach. If we want to let the audience feel the deeper reality behind visionary experience it is important to raise again and again crucial questions and consider how they translate into modern storytelling.
Another challenge is technology. I feel the time is right to get this project into production since digital filmmaking is popular in horror but it takes a lot to make it convincing if there is no big budget available. Today, we can produce movies with less but with bigger production value.
