Dr. Mathew Cross, also known as Matt and the Red Man or the Red Cannibal, is the primary (though mostly unseen) antagonist of The Forest. He is first seen at the plane crash, kidnapping the player's son, Timmy. He is only ever seen in Red Paint.

As the player explores the peninsula and furthers the story line, it becomes clear that Dr. Cross is a scientist who worked for Sahara Therapeutics and performed experiments involving children and the obelisks before getting fired by the company for misuse of the equipment. After his daughter Megan was killed by an Armsy that had escaped containment, Cross used the Resurrection Obelisk to revive his dead daughter by using Timmy as a sacrifice. However, Megan murdered her father by stabbing him in the neck, eyes, and mouth with crayons.

Cross' corpse can be found in the research lab, wearing his traditional red paint.

Locations

Cross can be spotted at numerous locations, depending if you approach the area from specific direction otherwise he will not spawn. If done correctly, he will spawn and stand there looking at the player. If the player gets too close, he will perform an action then disappear, such as he will run away. The most common place to see him is on the yacht, as he is surround by water he will generally spawn almost always. Here is a map of the Red Man's possible locations. There may be more that aren't listed. Map supplied by The Forest Map and the locations were provided by Zebulon:

Items

This is a short list of items belonging to Dr. Cross that the player can find and interact with.

• "She's not dead / She's sleeping" note
• "Don't be afraid / Just believe" note
• "A jealous God punishes a parents fault on their children" note

Theories

• It is implied that he may have been abusive towards his wife and/or Megan. This is evidenced by:
  • the restraining order
  • Megan's school photo
  • a Megan Drawing depicting him as a monster
  • an Autopsy Report featuring Jessica Cross, with the cause of death as murder
• It is suggested that he is delusional. This is evidenced by:
  • She's not dead / She's sleeping note
  • Megan Shrine
    
  • Cave Painting where he sees himself as a god
    
• Two of the Camcorder tapes suggest a different scenario, however: one features Megan in a wheelchair in what appears to be the Sahara cafeteria, and another shows Megan present at the escape of an Armsy. Depending on the order of these tapes, Cross may have been trying to use the obelisk to cure Megan and the other children at Sahara of pre-existing illnesses, with her accidental death triggering a total breakdown and research into resurrection which caused his dismissal from Sahara.
• It is assumed that he treats Timmy very well, even as he plans to kill the boy. This can be seen in this Timmy Drawing.
• It is clear that the cannibals deeply fear Dr. Cross, as most of the cannibals don't attack you when you're covered in red paint the way he is. Alternatively, the cannibals might have a peaceful understanding with Dr. Cross, whereas he provides them with passengers by bringing down the air plane. Since the cannibals do not appear to engage in agriculture or hunting, it might be possible that Saharah Therapeutics provided them with food.
• It is implied he had something to do with the beheaded lawyers in Lawyer's cave, as a result of losing custody of his daughter.
• Some polaroid pictures are probably photographed by him presumably to help Eric with finding his son. This can be proved by polaroid of Megan and red marker used on Keycard Polaroid Photos.

Trivia

• He was first called "Red Man" at the 0.32 patch notes saying "Fixed Red Man on yacht not appearing from some angles" and first called "Red Cannibal" at the community forums.
• He can be seen at a distance on the yacht and being at the top of the cliff at the south area of the Peninsula (Third area confirmed but is hardest to find), upon approaching all areas for the first time. The player cannot approach him without him running away.
• He is a paediatric geneticist.
• In early versions of the game, Timmy is instead taken by a cannibal, or at least Dr. Cross disguised as a cannibal, as he is seen with similar war paint and clothing to the cannibals, this was eventually changed to his trousers and signature red paint.

Gallery

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  Dr. Cross, presumably killed by his daughter
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  Red Man Deceased
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  Red man picture
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  The Red Man taking Timmy in an earlier version of the game.
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  Cave painting of the Red Man

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