Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘The Forbidden Girl’

Written by Scott Edwards

When growing up, you only have once choice and that is to listen to your parents. Hoping to make your life easier when you grow up, their life lessons may be more valuable than you can ever understand. It is easy to let what they say go in one ear and out the other, but when you look back, they might have given you at least one or two tidbits of information that has helped you along the way. Even in your older years, they can still be insightful, especially when it comes to living the life you have always wanted, even if you do not want to hear it.

Young Toby McClift is being sworn into a life of servitude by his born again father, to a life of fighting evil. With his birthmark being that of the chosen one, Toby will be forbidden to ever fall in love, no matter the circumstance. Not believing what his father is teaching him, Toby sneaks out to the local cemetery to be with his girlfriend Katie who has set up a great night for both of them. When finding a quiet spot, Toby believes that he is chosen to walk a different path, to be with the love of his life for the rest of his days. But there is something ominous in the air when his father finds the two love birds and tries to end the affair before anything can happen. Watching as Katie is about to be ignited, another figure appears and drags his young love away.

Six years have passed and Toby is being evaluated by his psychiatrist once again, but this time, he has been given a clean bill of health. Admitting that what he saw was not something other-worldly, just the actions of man, Toby is ready to join the land of the living once again but does not know what to do. With help from his doctor, Toby finds a tutoring job that might be right up his alley since he has been teaching within the walls of the asylum since he was admitted. With nobody left that he can turn to for help, this may be the only thing that will help to keep Toby afloat and as long as he takes his crazy pills, he will be fine in the real world.

Arriving at the address for the job, Toby sees a rundown mansion and starts to question his decision, but knows it cannot be that bad overall. Entering the mansion and finding Lady Wallace getting a blood transfusion that seems to be going wrong, Toby cries for help, but when Mortimer comes into the room to find the young man, he displays a bit of his power. Thinking that this is not the place for him, Toby starts to leave, but when looking back at the house he sees a vision from his past as Katie is walking on the balcony. Wanting to be reunited with his love, Toby decides to take the job and is welcomed back into the Mansion Wallace. With all of the rules being laid out for him by Mortimer, Toby is more excited to see the girl of his dreams again, but when finally meeting her and finding out that she is going by the name of Laura, Toby must uncover the secrets of what is happening inside of the massive house. The term forbidden is not in Toby’s dictionary as he explores the home and is unable to open doors that are off limits to him, but what he finds will change what he believes in forever.

You know, as a long shot film, this one did a pretty good job at making the story flow. I have read some other reviews about it being predicable and such, but is that really a bad thing for a horror movie?  Not knowing what he is dealing with inside of the house, Toby wants to know what is hiding behind all of the locked doors and when he is able to discover part of the secrets that he is dealing with, he is determined to find out more. I was a little disappointed that when he was able to find answers that he did not pursue them a little bit more, since it was laid out perfectly to know what kind of house he was really in, but his pursuit of love for Katie/Laura would not be stopped, so I guess that is why he refused to see what was staring him in the face. I liked the interactions between Toby and Katie/Laura the best, but Mortimer really stole the show when it came to Lady Wallace and her needs that he could not fulfill. I enjoyed the storyline very much since all of the questions were answered in the end and even though the effects might not have been what you might expect, they did their job making this an enjoyable ride. Stay Scared.

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