The Forbidden Girl

Director - Till Hastreiter (The Breeder)
Starring - Peter Gadiot (Night Wolf), Jytte-Merle Bohrnsen (Mountain Medic), and Klaus Tange (The Strange Color of Your Body's Tears)
Release Date - 2013
Genre - Horror
Tagline - "A demon power compels her..."
Format - DVD (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     I often feel obligated to review any film that has a catchy title, clever synopsis, or amazing artwork.  So many movies know people like me will buy them if they just get one of these right so they sucker the unsuspecting viewer in with a film that is shitty.  I see this all the fucking time and continue to get suckered into movies time and time again.  This has forced me to be a little more cautious when requesting review copies of films.  Towards the end of last year I shared news of a supernatural horror film titled The Forbidden Girl.  The movie looked fun so I requested it under the impression it would be another Wal-Mart horror flick that offered nothing entertaining.  I put it in my review stack and completely forgot to check it out until recently when I was rearranging my movies.  I tossed the movie in expecting a horrible time and was very surprised by what I saw.  

     The film follows a young man who is madly in love with a girl even though his father disapproves.  His father is a deeply religious man who believes his son is a chosen one due to a birthmark on his chest.  He disobeys his father and visits his woman one night where a beasts comes out of the shadows and abducts her and kills his father.  The man is then locked away in a mental hospital for several years before he is released to work in a castle as a teacher for a young girl that looks just like his deceased girlfriend.  The two start a romance which goes against the lady of the house and her servant Mortimer.  The young man is obsessed with how much his new love interest looks like his last and is determined to discover why.  His suspicion leads him on a hunt where he uncovers several supernatural elements including that his new woman is a witch and needs him in order to live forever.
      Some films are so shallow and simple that you can pretty much get the feel of the film from just looking at the DVD cover.  However, we do get movies that you have no idea what is going on from just looking at the cover and reading the synopsis on the back.  The Forbidden Girl is one of those films and one of the reasons I was so damn intrigued by it.  I had watched trailers, read the synopsis on the DVD artwork and read the press release sent to me several times and could still not figure out this film.  In fact, it took several viewings to actually grasp this one but that did take away from it.  The acting in this one is not consistent throughout.  Several scenes the entire cast shines with some great performances from each one.  They then follow it up with mediocre performances at best and this shows they are in it for just another paycheck and not for the love of the art.  The story for this one is complex, detailed, and all over the place.  This resulted in one mind-blowing story that is hard at times to follow.  In fact, the film is painfully difficult to follow.  This makes the viewer's mind wonder which only adds to the complexity of the story.  I loved the story but it did not like the way it was told.  The film tries to over complicate a story that is actually simple and this ruins the viewer's experience.  Finally, the film is full of practical and visual effects that could come off as too much but is a pleasant surprise considering most of my reviews are for movies that was made on just a few hundred dollars.  The beasts in this film looks great with great practical effects with the film using visual effects to enhance the practical, as well as, the scenery and other shots.  Overall, The Forbidden Girl is a beautiful horror film that blends practical and computer animated to create something truly beautiful.  Sadly, the film's story is not linear and difficult to follow especially if you had a few drinks.  Check it out but don't expect an easy watch.