| The Forest Hills | |
| Director: | Scott Goldberg |
| Producer: | Scott Goldberg |
| Cinematography: | Scott Goldberg Scott B. Hansen |
| Editing: | Scott Goldberg Scott B. Hansen Chris Roll |
| Music: | Scott Goldberg Mark Nadolski |
| Runtime: | 82 minutes |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
The Forest Hills is a 2023 American independent horror-thriller film directed and written by Scott Goldberg. It stars Chiko Mendez as Rico, a man who, after hiking in the Catskill Mountains, begins to experience "nightmarish visions" involving his mother (Shelley Duvall). The film also features performances from Edward Furlong, Dee Wallace, and Felissa Rose.
The Forest Hills is Duvall's final role before her death three months before the film's release, as well as her first acting role in over twenty years. The film was released in the United States on October 4, 2024.
A man "is tormented by nightmarish visions after enduring head trauma while camping in the Catskill woods."[1]
Cory Cowley, Michael Krysiewicz, Jennifer Pearl, Robert Leckington, Tammy Mattox, Daniel Mione, Christopher Allen White, Savanna Carmichael, Brian Michael Finn, Alethea Maguire, J. Jones, Taylor Vigee, Ariel Elizabeth Acosta, and Joel Fontaine play victims.[2]
Goldberg directed and wrote the short film Danielle's Revenge in 2007, and later wrote The Forest Hills as an alternative take on the feature.[3] In October 2022, Shelley Duvall, Edward Furlong, Chiko Mendez and Dee Wallace were cast.[4] In December 2022, it was revealed that Felissa Rose, Stacey Nelkin and Marianne Hagan were cast.[5] [6]
Duvall, who had been retired from acting for 20 years,[7] was initially cast in a cameo similar to "a Friday the 13th Pamela Voorhees type of flashback". Her role was expanded after she expressed interest in performing more scenes.[8] [9] [10] It is her final acting role, as she died in 2024.[11] To Entertainment Weekly, Goldberg described Duvall as "an amazing actress to work with, and I will forever be grateful for the opportunity to direct her."
The Forest Hills premiered at Smodcastle Cinemas, a theater in Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey,[12] on March 11, 2023.[13] It was released on October 4, 2024.[14] [15]
Cody Hamman of JoBlo.com gave the film a rating of 6 out of 10 and he said; I was impressed by Mendez, had fun spotting familiar faces in the supporting cast, and loved seeing Duvall again, I can’t say I found The Forest Hills to be an ideal viewing experience. Trippy, scattered, “is this real or not?” movies just aren’t for me, so this isn’t the sort of movie I would turn to for entertainment. I’m glad I saw it once, but it’s not something I could watch multiple times.[16]
In his review on Bloody Disgusting, Paul Lê rated it with 1.5/5 skulls saying it is "a confusing psychological werewolf movie (...) This feels more like an endurance test than a movie, and not in a rewarding way either."[17]