My quick rating - 6.2/10. One thing that I didn’t like about getting The Forbidden Lands is making the director of the movie, Mattia De Pascali, wait until I had the chance to see what I thought of it, since apparently, my eyes had betrayed me. They required an updated prescription for the glasses, which gave me a hard time watching subtitles due to headaches. But my new glasses showed up, and I jumped into this flick immediately.
The trailer gave me serious Lucio Fulci vibes, and that is 100 percent a compliment.
The Forbidden Lands opens with what appears to be a father and son hunting in the woods. The father looks normal enough, but young Tore (Keoma Vetrano) is dressed as if he got lost on his way to join The Warriors. Before long, the mysterious score kicks in, and the atmosphere settles over everything. The kid wanders off and discovers exactly what you expect someone to find in a horror film. A mutilated body.
The body belongs to a priest, and once it is dragged back to town, the locals quickly blame a wolf. Someone points out wolves don't typically live in caves. Ok, you just shush with those booksmarts.
This is a mystery thriller that is slowly cooked in a pot of superstitions and paranoia, and a town where everyone always looks like they have something to hide. The entire town seems to know about the Forbidden Lands surrounding them, and with additional deaths, the atmosphere becomes quite contagious. What I liked about the movie is that it goes where many others would not dare to go. Let's just say if you think children automatically have plot armor, foreign horror occasionally likes to remind you otherwise.
Then arrive the Holy Hermit (Fabrizio Pugliese) and the Knight of the Sacred Order (Fabrizio La Monica), two figures who immediately set off every scam detector in my brain. The moment these guys rolled into town, I was practically yelling at the screen. When the Hermit dramatically declares, "We must close the Gates of Hell," I couldn't help smiling at what felt like a nod to Fulci's classic City of the Living Dead (my VHS was titled Gates of Hell, same movie).
With the mounting hysteria, Rosa (played by Paola Medici), Selvaggia (Denise Cimino), and the incarcerated witch unite their efforts to trace the wandering travelers, which may ultimately help rescue Rosa’s brother, Fiacrio (Ivan Raganato). Eventually, their quest leads them deep inside the Forbidden Lands where they come across quite frightening flesh-eaters resembling Tusken Raiders lost in the wrong forest.
Visually, this is an impressive indie production from De Pascali. The cinematography is consistently strong. The lens flare shots are used effectively, and the entire film looks far more expensive than it probably was. The atmosphere remains captivating, even when the pacing slows down. If you're expecting constant action, you might get impatient, but I enjoyed soaking in the suspense.
My only major issue comes right at the end. After spending like 97 minutes looking polished and cinematic, the final effect feels surprisingly cheap and underwhelming. It's an unfortunate note to end on because everything leading up to it works so well.
Still, The Forbidden Lands provides a gripping tale of folk horror. The movie is full of paranoia, superstition, and very much Fulci-like energy. Despite its indie nature, the movie is surprisingly good and demonstrates yet again that atmosphere (as well as skill) beats deep pockets. Oh, if you are looking for it, the original title is Le Terre Incolte.
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