Shelley Duvall hasn’t been seen in a film since 2002, but her brief cameo in the independent horror film The Forest Hills will stick with you for a long time.
Shelley Duvall is poised to make a movie comeback with her first role in 20 years in The Forest Hills, when most people her age are ready to kick back and relax.
For fans of Duvall’s work in classic films like Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, her return to screens will be a major event.
Duvall portrays Rico’s mother in The Forest Hills, a Scott Goldberg-directed independent horror film about a man who explores the Catskill Mountains while being haunted by terrifying visions.
In her role as Rico’s mother, Duvall makes her first on-screen appearance since 2002’s Like Manna From Heaven, appearing as a torturing inner voice and having her sequences shot against a black background to give her a harsh and stern presence as she provokes her son.
Edward Furlong of Terminator 2: Judgement Day and Dee Wallace of numerous 1980s films, including E.T. and Cujo, are among the other legendary performers featured in The Forest Hills alongside Duvall.
Will This Be the Last Time We See Shelley Duvall in a Movie?
As of this writing, it is unknown whether Shelley Duvall has returned to acting for The Forest Hills to extend her surprise walk out of self-imposed retirement, but even this one performance, which quickly jumps out as remarkable, is more than her admirers probably ever anticipated to see.
Although Duvall’s turn in The Shining garnered recognition from the Razzies, for many film buffs, it will always be her most memorable portrayal.
This year, after learning that Stanley Kubrick had traumatized Duvall to obtain the performance he desired from her, the Razzies finally decided to take back their worst actress award for the role they had previously given her.
Writer Scott Goldberg of The Forest Hill gave his opinion on the part, saying that he enjoyed the film very much. As he had already stated:
“We are huge fans of The Shining, and it’s honestly one of my favorite horror movies of all time, up there with John Carpenter’s Halloween and George A. Romero’s Day of the Dead with the dark tones they delivered in their movies, along with perfect scores and elements that make them my personal favorites. Shelley contributed to The Shining being an absolute masterpiece by giving her all, and performing in a way that really showcased the fear and horror of a mother in isolation.”
Though Duvall has been silent about her role in the film and the reasons for her sudden return to the spotlight, we can expect an explanation before the 2023 premiere of The Forest Hills.
Fans can pass the time till then by watching some of Duvall’s previous works, such as Three Women (1977) or his role as Olive Oyl in a live-action adaptation of Popeye opposite Robin Williams.
