Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Black Forest’

Written by Scott Edwards 

Everybody loves a good story, even when we were kids, we would love for our parents to tell us a nighttime story so we could fall asleep. One of the types of stories most people are told are fairy tales, the kind that always have a happy ending. From what I remember about these stories is that they all came with morals that hopefully we would take with us into our later years. The Brothers Grimm have been attributed with bringing us some of the most memorable tales that have withstood the ages of time and still are being read to this day, and they have done something that many authors can only dream about doing, bringing fear and joy in one sitting for years to come.

Saxon is sitting in a bar talking to a new acquaintance named Cazmar about fairy tales and what they mean to people. Cazmar tells a tale that is not one for the weak of heart in order to get Saxon to take him up on a trip into the woods on Midsummer’s Eve to test his beliefs and get him away from his grieving. Saxon has lost his wife to cancer and being one of the foremost doctors in this area, he is still having nightmares about her and what he could have done differently. Agreeing to go along on an excursion, Saxon is joined by Walter Anderson, his wife Hanna, daughter Bree and Nanny Amber. Two more ‘researchers’ are joining the group as well, college students Gallen and Conrad. 

Being promised that the classic fairy tales were written in the spot where the group is headed seems to be the best sales pitch that Cazmar could give to a tourist and he always gets them. Getting to know each other on the ride, the group decides that the college kids are more than a little bit crazy. Arriving at their destination, the group stands on top of a hill with a circular group of stones and has to share their belief. As Cazmar speaks an ancient spell, a strange wind erupts in the middle of the group and a Fairy appears. Focusing on Hanna and her daughter, the Fairy pretends to get sick to draw in the young mother, only to kidnap her first born.

Searching for the lost child, the group tries to find the road they traveled in on, but find that they are not in the same place. Looking for shelter, the group stumbles onto an Inn in the middle of the forest and decide to make it their central landmark. The Inn is set up for the group’s arrival and although they think it is very strange, they decide to investigate and find out that they are not in the same realm from which they came. With an attack on Amber by seven hungry dwarfs, the group is joined by Karin, a striking copy of Saxon’s deceased wife. Not knowing what is really happening, the group tries to come up with theories of what happened and have to live their lives by the lessons taught to them in a book of Fairy Tales.

With the love we have all had for fairy tales growing up, this is a great way to test your knowledge of what you actually remember. Having several stories being referenced in this movie, you may want to do your homework on the Grimm classics to make sure you do not miss a beat. Or you could just want to go back and read the classics and see what other ideas you might have had for a movie that is based all around them. Looking into the dark side of these tales, I was not disappointed by what made it into the movie, and neither will you. This is a fun way to refresh your childhood memories of stories that used to put us to sleep and it might give you an idea of what to not read to your children. Stay Scared.

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