Lovely, Dark, and Deep

This movie seemed really promising initially. A Ranger getting wrapped up in a missing person's case with her own missing loved one in her past? Sign me up.

But it didn't go that route. Without spoiling too much, it decided to go a trippy, metaphorical route without establishing enough about this character and her own memories. It was just a scape of meaningless hallucinations for most of the movie. That kind of thing only works if there's a reality check often enough that we get scared questioning what's real and what's not. Instead, I was wondering when the unreal stuff was going to finally end.

The ending was incredibly disappointing and overall mid. If you ask me, not worth the runtime. Watch The Ritual instead if you want spooky woods with a paranormal twist about grief.

Where do I even begin with this mess of a movie? There is so much that was poorly done about, I don't even know where I should start. It's like someone took an interesting premise, someone else wrote the most boring story surrounding it, and then you had someone completely different write the script. Disjointed, all-over-the-place storytelling that left you with more questions than you started off with, and that is never a compliment.

The first inclination that this was going to be a bad film was that it took almost 40 minutes before anything of note transpired. The initial 40 were spent with the lead wandering the woods, making her rounds as a park ranger, while also looking for someone. When the movie does get going, it's at a snails pace. I'm not joking when I say that for every minute something even remotely interesting is happening, there are 20 minutes of nonsense. Drone flying over the woods, the woods creeping upside down, trees, more woods, trees, trees, trees. That's the gist of this movie. It was almost like an advertisement for the National Parks, and this movie is probably less exciting than a ranger training video.

It's a movie that, the more you watched, the more you could tell that it didn't really have a firm direction to begin with. It was like a movie made by various people who didn't share their part of the story until the end, and the movie suffered greatly because of it. The last half hour I watched on 8X speed because I just couldn't be bothered to give this movie any more of my time.

I'm starting to notice a trend in these modern Hollywood horror films; every time a horror movies showcases any signs of D. E. I it's been awful, and you can throw this one right in the pile. It looks like the focus is on superficial elements that are more important than telling a decent story that people might actually enjoy, and that in itself is a real travesty of modern day Hollywood. I'm so glad that movies in the rest of the world aren't adhering to that nonsense. Hollywood really isn't worth the time or energy if they keep pumping out crap like this.

A total and complete waste of time. Please, for the love of all that is decent and pure, listen to me; your time is much to precious to spend it watching movies like these. Avoid this movie at all costs. It's just not good by any metric you throw at it.

In 2023's "Lovely, Dark, and Deep" we are introduced to Lennon, a new back country ranger who is traveling through the wilderness hoping to uncover something from her past. The movie has some great shots of nature and there's a mystical feeling about the woods she is patrolling. She also meets another ranger and a lost woman in the woods. But for some reason the other Rangers don't seem to be pleased about her finding that woman and tell her to go home. The movie is much more complex and sadly that gets confusing quite fast. It felt like a fever dream with lots of unsettling noises and unique shots. The end result felt a little unfinished and the movie leaves too many unanswered questions. It's an overall decent watch but definitely won't suit everybody. [4,9/10]

Lovely, Dark, and Deep follows the path of a new Park Ranger going out for the summer alone in her territory. But, she has something in her past that makes us question her stability. In addition to this, there is something wrong in this forest: people go missing, and they aren't ever found.

As the movie progresses, the film starts to slip in its perspective, with reality being twisted, things in the background move, and the main character appears to go deeper into her own mind and break with her reality. This is captured well by the production.

The film has a small and slow quality to it that does make it slightly more difficult to feel connected to the character and the plot. But, there is enough there for a watch. The final resolution or twist doesn't do enough for the slower contemplative pace. It makes enough of a plotting that I'm glad I watched it, but overall it's a decent film, not great. Production is high, and the scenery well captured. The forest does almost become its own character.