Director(s): Stephen Cognetti
Writer(s):   Stephen Cognetti
Starring: Brian Anthony Wilson, Elizabeth Vermilyea, Lorenzo Beronilla
Runtime: 1h 43 minutes
Rating: NR
Our Rating: ★★½ 

If you are in the market for a new home stay away from 825 Forest Road. That is unless you are interested in a poltergeist wrecking your fragile life and either dragging you to madness or hell –then I know a place.

Chuck Wilson is starting a new life after a family tragedy when he moves to the town of Ashland Falls with his wife Maria and little sister Elizabeth. But he quickly discovers that the town has a dark secret. The ghost of Helen Foster has terrorized residents for decades, since her own suicide back in the ‘40s.

Spoiler Alert: Turn back now if you do not want spoilers – save yourself.

Helen isn’t just a ghost confined to 825 Forest Road, she is terrorizing the entire town. This poltergeist is such a menace she has unnerved the residents of Ashland Falls so severely they buried all information regarding her life and death and the location of her former house. Helen has done so much damage to the town that some of the residents convened a support group.

Speaking of support groups, this film also includes back stories involving mental illnesses and suicides that were brought up but left on the table. At first it appears that maybe you can only see Helen if you had experienced some sort of trauma, but the ending of the film dispels that theory.

Unfortunately, 825 Forest Road isn’t anything we haven’t seen before, however I will give it a hat tip for what it was attempting which was a poltergeist with tormenting of a town. However, the film also suffers from too many narratives at one time. As stated there is a mental illness element, it gets confusing if Helen drags you into the underworld or drives you insane in the real world. Both things seems to be happening simultaneously.

As far as the body count goes it’s pretty mild, but there are a couple of stabs (cornball pun intended) at genuine “scary” moments.  Also, hat tips to cinematographer and the makeup and costuming folks for Helen. Chick was scary looking. The actors do a fair job with what they had to work with the supporting characters added much needed levity to a few scenes.

The film is written and directed by Stephen Cognetti who also wrote and directed the Hell House LLC franchise. This film isn’t that and misses the mark by miles, but it’s still worth a watch.

825 Forest Road streams April 4, 2025 on Shudder.