Movie Review: 825 Forest Road

In my opinion the original Hell House LLC, while not without its flaws, stands out as one of the scariest found-footage horror films ever made. As a result, I’ve watched it more than once and followed writer and director Stephen Cognetti’s career with interest ever since. He did disappoint with the sequels to that movie, but managed to once again provide copious chills in his 2023 prequel Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor. Now, unsurprisingly looking to branch out from that franchise, he’s released 825 Forest Road, a fairly standard haunted house movie that (mostly) eschews the first-person perspective of his prior works.

Chuck Wilson (Joe Falcone) and his wife Maria (Elizabeth Vermilyea) agree to take in his college-age sister Isabelle (Kathryn Miller) after she survived a car accident that killed their mother. Not having room to do so in their New York City apartment, the couple buys a house in the small town of Ashland Falls, where he will be taking a job at the nearby university that Isabelle will also be attending.

The house they found is an absolute steal and, as is usually the case with such things, it’s too good to be true. Right off the bat the roof is leaking and then the neighbor informs them that the prior owner committed suicide, neither fact of which was disclosed to them. When they also learn that the entire town seems to be haunted by a malicious entity, they begin to seriously question their decision. Nevertheless, Chuck and Isabelle are dead set on figuring out the mystery behind the ghost while an escalating series of creepy events transpires around them.

Structured in 3 chapters, each told from the perspective of one the lead characters, the movie repeatedly brings us to the edge of its scariest moments before catapulting us back to the beginning for an alternate viewpoint. This style of storytelling isn’t inherently bad, but there is no logical reason for its use here. None of the chapters really reveals much that we couldn’t have inferred with what we’ve already been told and everything would have probably flowed better if it had just been presented linearly.

The performances can be fairly uneven. While everyone proves adept at being scared, during the quieter moments some of the line deliveries come off as unnatural and rigid, though no one ever veers into bad territory. The exceptions would be Miller, who lends Isabelle some authenticity and Darin F. Earl II, who is naturally charming as her friend Luke.

Despite its myriad flaws however, the movie does build some genuine suspense as it moves towards an effective reveal (that you will likely at least partially guess). Cognetti is reliably adept at generating scares, though the most frightening moments are when he lets himself slip back into the Hell House style, embracing the first-person perspective and the inherent creepiness of inanimate humanoid objects. Smartly, the main ghost is only seen sparingly, upping its ability to instill fear. I don’t imagine this movie will launch another franchise for its filmmaker or even inspire many repeat viewings, but there is enough good here to warrant at least one watch. ★★★