The Forest 1982

Couple murdered in Sierra wilderness

Two middle-aged hikers, a husband and wife, are attacked in the Sierra Nevada wilderness. The husband is stabbed to death by an unseen assailant, and the killer then pursues the wife, slitting her throat. The brutal end of the first couple foreshadows the danger that will shadow the later campers.

Two LA couples plan a camping trip

Two Los Angeles couples, Steve and Sharon, and Charlie and Teddi, decide to escape the city with a camping trip. They plan to meet again at their destination that evening. The setup foreshadows a confrontation with past horrors resurfacing in the wilderness.

Wives depart; men follow to meet them

Sharon and Teddi depart ahead of their husbands, who intend to meet them later that evening. The separation creates the conditions for the nightmarish events to unfold in their absence.

Thunderstorm drives the camp to the waterfall

The two women hike toward their planned campsite and are caught in a sudden thunderstorm. They set up a makeshift camp at the base of a waterfall to wait out the rain, unaware of the dangers nearby.

Ghosts watch from the cave

From a nearby cave, the ghosts of two young children, John and Jennifer, observe the campers. Their presence hints at a haunting that will soon intrude into the living world.

The dead mother appears to the campers

An apparition of the children's dead mother materializes before Sharon and Teddi, asking where her children are and then vanishing. The terrifying vision unsettles Teddi and heightens the women's fear.

Steve and Charlie get lost as night falls

Steve and Charlie, following behind, become lost as darkness descends. They struggle to find their way back to the river camp, adding to the sense of danger.

Ghosts inform John Sr. about the two women

The ghosts of John and Jennifer visit their father, John Sr., a cannibalistic hermit who lives in a cave and hunts hikers, and tell him they saw two young women camping by the river. He begins to prepare for a pursuit.

Sharon escapes; Teddi left behind

John Sr. leaves to pursue the women; Sharon, awakened by the children's warning that 'daddy is coming,' flees the camp, leaving Teddi alone with the danger looming.

Teddi is killed by John Sr.

John Sr. stalks the camp and kills Teddi, while Sharon escapes by leaping into the river. The first direct kill tied to the cannibal father marks a turning point in the nightmarish events.

Meat, ghosts, and backstory in the cave

Seeking shelter from the rain, Steve and Charlie enter John Sr.'s cave and find it furnished with a fire pit roasting a slab of meat. The ghosts of John Jr. and Jennifer appear before John arrives, heightening the eerie atmosphere. John then offers the meat to the men and recounts the backstory of his family.