Lovely, Dark, and Deep

Hoping to overcome a personal tragedy, a woman treks into the wilderness under the guise of a new ranger's job which allows her to look into the past tragedy that has haunted her only to come face to face with the unwanted source of the hauntings and must battle her sanity to escape the area.

This was a decent enough if overall underwhelming genre effort. Among its few positive features here is the general sense of isolation and atmospherics that are present within here. A vast majority of the first half is spent in the confines of the forest and the wonderful use of atmospherics only enhances that with the idea of the forest being alive and toying with her which is somewhat unnerving. Enhanced incredibly well with the given backstory about her past history and the connection she has with the missing ranger friend that spurns her into going along with the trip, this gets the film off to a solid start as the motivation to get there offers quite an impressive factor to get to the surroundings around her. As it gradually dawns on her that the more she's around the forest the more she questions what she's seeing and believing, the madness that develops here as the psychological effects take centerstage manages to be the big crowning achievement in the film. As this gives way to the further connection between the events taking place and the past encounter that initially drew her to the area, this starts to take a far greater and more atmospheric turn as the inability to determine what's going on is a strong one. Taking the chance to incorporate a slew of psychological clues and disturbnances that take place to upset her, there's a lot of unnerving work throughout here as the inability to distinguish from her past hallucinations, repressed memories, or having something legitimately taking place during the stay. As these lead to further revelations about everything and what's really going on within the film, the truth being revealed the way it does is quite fun with how it comes together into a shocking mystery as to how it takes place which also utilizes the fine reveal for a lot to like here. Other than this, though, there's not a whole lot to the film as a whole. So much of this is reliant on the idea of the creepiness of the woods and the unnatural setting that's really only a normal enough forest that there's not a whole lot of action to be had here. The main part of the film which is wholly enjoyable due to the effectiveness of this build-up about her growing uncertainty with regard to what happened to her yet this is all generally dull and uneventful with how it's handled especially for those looking for something beyond just fleeting glimpses of shadows or objects in the distance. As a result, the focus on getting the type of chilling genre content usually featured here is kept to a minimum as the psychological leanings are far more featured which becomes a major stumbling block that holds this one back.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Language and Violence.

When I sat down to watch this 2023 movie from writer and director Teresa Sutherland, I had never heard about the movie, so I didn't know what I was in for. But the movie's cover and title seemed interesting enough, plus the fact that it was a horror movie that I hadn't already seen, then of course I opted to sit down and give "Lovely, Dark, and Deep" a chance.

And I am glad that I did, because this movie was entertaining. Sure, I didn't fully grasp the concept of what was going on, with the 'taking' and 'them' that the rangers talked about throughout the movie. But what made the movie enjoyable to me was the acting performances, the events that took place and the way that the movie was shot. It was a rather interesting movie and it definitely had some very unique and bizare visuals, which I definitely enjoyed.

As for the narrative, well I enjoyed the story, though I have to admit that I was at a loss as to what the purpose really was of the disappearances and the mentioning of 'them' and such. But the movie proved very enjoyable nonetheless.

I was not familiar with the cast ensemble in the movie, and that is something I do enjoy when I sit down to watch a movie. It is particularly enjoyable to see new talents and faces on the screen, especially when they are as talented as Georgina Campbell (the leading actress, playing Lennon) was in this movie. Her performance as Lennon was phenomenal, and she carried the movie with grace.

Visually then writer and director Teresa Sutherland put together quite a movie. There are so many great visual scenes throughout the course of the movie, and they add so much flavor to the overall enjoyment of the movie.

"Lovely, Dark, and Deep" is a movie that I definitely recommend you to sit down and watch.

My rating of "Lovely, Dark, and Deep" lands on a seven out of ten stars.

This film is a trip.

Despite it's stunning setting, excellent cinematography, and intriguing concept...I'm not surprised to hear that a lot of people didn't like this film.

Because the ending of is both convoluted and confounding.

Any true crime fans familiar with the popular youtube conspiracy Missing 411, will immediately pick up that this film is a play off that idea.

If you aren't familiar with it: it pertains to the high percentage of unresolved missing persons cases that are connected to national parks across the country.

This film- which is a crime mystery, psychological horror, and sci fi film all rolled into one- starts off straight forward enough...as we follow a rookie park ranger, named Lennon, who took on the profession specifically to investigate these sort of cases.

Making her a representation of the class of self styled internet sleuths, who are drawn toward such mysteries, on the internet.

The reason for this being, because her little sister is one of those missing people- who inexplicably vanished in the Avorres National Park, never to be seen or heard from again.

Which she blames herself for...as she was supposed to be the one watching her at the time.

Beyond this, however, things get really weird.

And I mean REALLY weird.

With everything starting when a new missing person call comes in.

Despite being ordered to stay behind, Lennon makes her way into the backwoods in search of the missing woman...and finds her.

Which seems to mark the end of her tenure as a park ranger...

So she heads out into the forest for one last investigation.

Which is when things seem to start to take a supernatural turn.

The question being...is what happens to her next, real...or just all in her head.

Prior to this, the film hints at there being rumours that question her mental stability.

So the possibility that it's the latter is certainly there.

The rangers are taught to leave notes behind, marking the time they left, and duration they plan to be gone for, each time they leave their cabin.

However...early on in the film there is some foreshadowing (that pertains to another missing ranger)...when we are shown a shot of a note that says something along the lines of "I owe this land one body".

Which ends up being integral to understanding the otherwise confusing way in which the film ends.

Because, as part of her hallucinatory katabasis, Lennon is warned that she must return what she has taken...or be taken, herself.

However, what it is she took isn't exactly clear.

It turns out that what she took was actually the young woman she saved, when she found her the previous day.

Hence why she ends up owing the land one body.

And, seemingly, what triggers her descent into the hellish nightmare that may or may not be madness.

The mystery is retained by it's ambiguity...which is precisely what makes this film so intriguing.

Because once she manages to break free from her torment...she is still beholden to this obligation.

Which is something you need to realize, in order to fully grasp why the film ends the way it does.

As, the state the man (at the end of the film) is in, both confirms- and justifies- her experience as being valid.

So, she knows the burden, explained above, still lies upon her.

Hence why she lies to him, and takes the action she does.

Because, only by doing so can she appease the forces at work, and truly free herself from the grip of the forest.

Note the final shot...as the drone moves higher and higher, we see they are amidst a field of large granite boulders.

Which harkens back to when she was listening to a podcast, earlier in the film, during which it is mentioned that the phenomenon is more predominant when granite is present in the vicinity.

So...despite the fact that it is completely understandable that you might not get how the film ends.

It's actually kind of brilliant when you think about it.

You just have to pay very close attention to the small details...and ponder on it a little.

It's definitely a thinker...and not everyone wants that out of a film (particularly a horror film).

But don't let the haters deter you...because it's actually a pretty awesome film.

Just...a really trippy one.

7 out of 10.

Gorgeous directing and cinematography, and Georgina Campbell was great as always. Definitely an atmospheric slowwww burn, I do wish it went a little more insane when it started to turn, would've been more of a payoff for the wait, but they still pulled off some neat stuff. The climbing thing was perfect, so so creepy. This would be a good one for those who prefer suspense/true crime over heavy gore. Nice short 87 minute runtime too so it's not a huge commitment and it definitely keeps you interested. Very promising stuff from a first time director, would be glad to watch whatever comes next :) Also "I owe this land a body" is just the creepiest thing ever so specific props on that.