Aokigahara Forest near Mount Fuji in Japan, otherwise known as the "suicide forest" sees an average of 3 suicides a week. It is also said to be haunted by multiple "Yurei" - Japanese ghosts who are angry at their own deaths. This premise was previously explored in the short film Shawn4Ever (2012).
The forest scenes were filmed in Purgatory Chasm, a Massachusetts state reservation. Interestingly, while stumbling through the woods, the Ken Watanabe character says to the Matthew McConaughey character, "You are in purgatory".
This was the first film in the 68th edition of the Cannes film festival to be booed by the audience.
The screenplay for this film was featured in the 2013 Blacklist; a list of the "most liked" unmade scripts of the year.
Part of this movie was filmed in Ashland, Massachusetts