- Director: Stephen Cognetti
- Writer: Stephen Cognetti
- Stars: Brian Anthony Wilson, Elizabeth Vermilyea, Joe Falcone, Kathryn Miller
REVIEW
Chuck and his wife Maria have just purchased a new home in Ashland Falls, hoping to start a fresh life for his sister Isabelle after a family tragedy. Although suspicious of why such a large home would be so affordable, Chuck is in a hurry to make the move, so the three quickly make the house their home.
Told in four chapters, 825 Forest Road is a whole new lore from Stephen Cognetti. Writer/ director of the Hell House LLC films, Cognetti has built a strong following of his found footage haunted house films: on any given day, Horror Reddit is talking about at least one of his films. With a knack for setting up spooky moments in the background or almost out of frame, alongside the kind of stories that would make for excellent podcast listening, Cognetti excells in old-fashioned storytelling.
A bit of a departure from his usual, 825 Forest Road is Cognetti’s first narrative film, telling the ghost story of Helen Foster. Many years ago, Helen’s daughter was bullied by some of the other children in town, terrible events occurred because of this and Ashland Falls has lived in fear of her ghost ever since. Over the years, many people have tried to find Helen’s home, but the townsfolk did everything they could to make that impossible. However, anyone living in Ashland who has been touched by tragedy, is haunted by Helen until she drives them to death by suicide.
As Chuck, Maria and Isabelle all have their own encounters with Helen’s ghost, we see how Helen utilizes grief as a weapon. Opening with a quote from C.S. Lewis, Cognetti leaves no doubt about this film being a metaphor for grief, and while there is certainly no shortage of those these days, Cognetti and his cottage industry of bare bones ghost stories make it feel special. All of the actors inhabit each character in a way that they feel like someone we have known our whole lives and the story unfolds easily with fun bits of tension sprinkled in the background for those with a keen eye. There is a clever bit with live streaming where Cognetti shows off his “did I see something move?” tactic. A cold open, combined with the individual chapters all coming together at the end makes for a truly spooky showdown with Helen Foster. While this kind of film may be too “simple” or a bit of a slow burn for some, the simplicity is the charm that has garnered Cognetti an ardent fan base and 825 Forest Road is a nice change of form from the filmmaker.
825 Forest Road is now available on Shudder.
Lisa Fremont
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