SummaryWhat if you were told that every moment you experienced and every memory you held dear never happened? In this psychological thriller, Telly Paretta (Moore) is tormented by the memory of her eight-year-old son's death in a plane crash 14 months ago. While trying to work through her grief, she is informed by her psychiatrist (Sinise) that she is s... Read More
Directed By:Joseph Ruben
Written By:Gerald Di Pego
The Forgotten
Metascore
Mixed or Average
43
User score
Mixed or Average
5.8
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Metascore
Mixed or Average
15% Positive
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
62% Mixed
21 Reviews
21 Reviews
24% Negative
8 Reviews
8 Reviews
91
It struck me as the most exciting and original Hollywood thriller, occult or otherwise, since "The Sixth Sense."
60
Begins as a perfectly reasonable thriller and ends up rather an inane one.
User score
Mixed or Average
32% Positive
16 Ratings
16 Ratings
54% Mixed
27 Ratings
27 Ratings
14% Negative
7 Ratings
7 Ratings
Jan 14, 2020
8
Julianne is captivating in this movie. If you're going to see this movie, she is one reason to see it. Her acting in the movie is infallible.
Sep 7, 2021
7
A masterpiece with a flaw that can ruin the experience. On one hand this is a fresh idea, has an intense, immersive and emotional story and a good cast of actors that enhance it. On the other hand it gets weaker towards the end and the twist or reveal ruined this experience for many. It is one of these great stories that are awesome but they can not finish it properly. Even I who enjoyed it a lot and did not mind the twist that much will admit that it took me out of the immersion and decreased my rating. Think of it like an M Night Shyamalan movie were a lot depends on the twist. The movie itself has elements from a psychological thriller, horror movie and another genre I cant spoil. The story follows Telly Paretta who grieves about the loss of her son Sam who died 14 months ago in a plane crash. She still suffers and cant go on with her life. When she returns from work she finds Sam’s room redecorated and immediately (verbally) attacks her husband for this insensitivity. However her husband tells her they never had a son and it was all in her imagination. Strangely this seems to be correct for others too and she goes on the journey to find answers to this. Like I said it starts really strong. The suspense and atmosphere are amazing. It creates an immersion many other movies fail to archive. Sadly they lost momentum towards the end and the twist or reveal harms the overall experience. For me not that much to be fair but others hated that with passion. To be fair again while I have some ideas to improve the story with better twists I am not sure that it would work any better. So lets say it is good but has weaknesses too. Now lets continue with the actors. Telly Paretta is played by Julianne Moore who is an amazing actress. She fully delivers the full range of the role and I praise her for this good performance. Dominic West as Ash also delivers a good performance and has good chemistry with Julianne Moore. The rest of the cast is an addition and I don't mean this negatively. They enhance the story and are the vehicle for the main characters journey and character development. So in this regard I see no weaknesses or missteps. Visually they do a lot to deliver the atmosphere. Because this is done in a sneaky and intuitive way I did not recognize it until the later half of the movie. The soundtrack enhances this too. Overall I repeat my opening statement. This is a masterpiece with one potential weakness that can ruin the experience. Still I considered it a good experience, a fresh idea and something worth to discuss with friends. Would recommend to watch it but the warning is fair.
50
There is nothing worse than a thriller that doesn't play fair... The Forgotten is just a big, fat, obvious cheater.
50
By the self-contradictory and ludicrous end, I had the mixed satisfaction of being proved right in my disappointment. (Di Pego wrote the equally silly "Instinct" and "Angel Eyes," so I can't say I was surprised.)
40
There isn't much here any semi-regular viewer of "The X-Files" hasn't already seen a dozen times before.
38
All this dreary movie has is a terrible whodunit payoff.
10
It's "The Sixth Sense" as nonsense, "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" without the sunshine. Or the mind.
Mar 22, 2025
6
Average sci fi mystery thriller. Hugh production value and a great cast, cinematography, cast and soundtrack. Worth a watch for any genre fans.
Dec 22, 2022
5
I thought this movie would have been a lot better then it was. It was a good story, but the movie just dragged on it was more boring then interesting.
Oct 7, 2011
5
Ok I will say off the bat that the whole concept to the movie is a little strange. You start to figure most of it out by the middle of the film. By the end, it comes clear and is a little off. The cast on the other hand were pretty good. Julianne Moore was pretty excellent as well as Dominic West who also had a big part. Side characters were also good like Gary Sinise and my personal favorite from the movie, Linus Roache. He basically played the bad guy and really had no emotion until later in the film. But having no emotion made him a very creepy character to watch. I really wished more out of this movie. I guess the story was just ok for me, but I did enjoy watching it. I keep feeling like they could of took a different direction and did better though.
Nov 22, 2021
3
God-awful movie. A confusing, unrealistic, and illogical thriller that admittedly starts off promising, but then as the premise grows the story becomes more and more ridiculous and improbable. It’s not even suspenseful, in fact, there is zero suspense in this thriller. It’s best that The Forgotten remains forgotten.
Production Company:
- Revolution Studios
- Jinks/Cohen Company
- Visual Arts Entertainment
Release Date:Sep 24, 2004
Duration:1 h 31 m
Rating:PG-13
Tagline:You'll Never Forget The Ones You Love
Awards
Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA
• 2 Nominations
Teen Choice Awards
• 2 Nominations
Golden Trailer Awards
• 1 Nomination




























