Never would there have been a more appropriately titled film… were it not for one really, really good jump scare that’s so unexpected and outlandish in its imagery, you’ll be compelled to watch it over and over just to make sure you actually saw what you saw. That and a not-bad performance by Julianne Moore is about all this sci-fi thriller has going for it, even though everyone both in front of and behind the camera seems to be working overtime in an attempt to make this thing work… alas, the premise is just a bit too ridiculous to swallow, despite the film’s admirably stone-faced (and rather melancholy) tone. Moore plays a woman who seems to be completely off her rocker, claiming she had a son who died fourteen months ago; her doctor tells her she’s imagining a life she never had after a miscarriage, but we know it’s all some sort of experiment concocted by occasionally malevolent men from outer space who want to see what makes us tick. Imagine the basic premise of Dark City but filtered through a more traditional kind of alien abduction story and you’ve got the general idea… unfortunately, except for the aforementioned amazing jump scare (and believe us, you’ll know it when you see it), The Forgotten doesn’t really go anywhere from there.
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New On Netflix: The Forgotten