The first major release of 2016 is “The Forest,” a horror film that doesn’t exactly ring in the new year with a bang.

The premise proves to be pretty good, although the execution not so much – resulting in a film that falls apart long before the final credits.

“The Forest” follows Sara (Natalie Dormer  from TV’s “Game of Thrones”) who journeys to the Aokigahara Forest in Japan to search for her twin sister Jess.

Everyone else believes Jess has disappeared into the woods and committed suicide, but Sara is certain she is still alive, so she accompanies a journalist named Aiden (Taylor Kinney) and a forest guide named Michi (Yukiyoshi Ozawa).

Once in the woods, Sara begins to learn that the legend of the forest is real – and starts to question what is reality.

There might be a good film buried deep in “The Forest,” but this is not that film.

Director Jason Zada does a good job of establishing the mood and setting up some early suspense, but that hope quickly erodes as the script (credited to three writers – Ben Ketai and Sarah Cornwell and Nick Antosca) paints itself into a corner and starts using every horror cliche imaginable to get to the film’s final act.

It’s the kind of screenplay where a twist happens with no real set-up, mainly because it is the only way the writers can figure out how to get to the forced ending they want.

Dormer keeps it interesting, good enough to at least have the audience invest in her plight for a while.

But that interest has waned long before the final shot, which is basically just a way to tease another film.

Anything is possible, but I think a sequel is unlikely – especially for a film that will likely be forgotten by the time the calendar turns to February.

“The Forest” is rated PG-13 for disturbing thematic content and images and is now playing at the Regal Greenwood Mall Stadium 10 and Highland Cinemas in Glasgow.

Grade: C-