2023 / Teresa Sutherland / Tubi / NR
"The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep."
Plot
An isolated park ranger attempts to unravel the mystery behind the disappearance of hikers in the forest. She’s forced to question her sanity when she hears sounds from her walkie without batteries. She stumbles across one of the missing hikers and helps them to safety. She returns to camp only to become more paranoid than ever. The forest continues to shift around her, and the ranger must come to terms with better-forgotten traumas.
Creators
This is Teresa Sutherland's directorial debut. She has written for 2018's The Wind and helped write 2021's Midnight Mass. If you're curious as to what Teresa has to say about the making of this film you can check out this awesome interview over at Rue Morgue. In the interview, she discusses some of the research she did into the lives of park rangers and the parks she had in mind when creating Lovely Dark and Deep. Georgina Campbell is the star and she does a spectacular job. You'll most likely recognize her from 2022's Barbarian. The title Lovely, Dark, and Deep comes from a Robert Frost poem called Stopping by The Woods on a Snowy Evening. Give it a read here if you're into poetry. It's a simple yet elegant read.
Jake's Take
Georgina Campbell playing a park ranger haunted by her past and being tormented by the forest she's assigned to protect is a bombshell premise. It shines in the quiet beats, really capturing the beauty of Portugal. I wish more of this film had stuck with me. The scares are forgettable, save for a few, like the woman in the tree, and the blood-faced man. The supporting cast doesn't have enough leverage of their own either, which hurts the climax of the film, and left me wanting. Georgina does a fantastic job of selling her character though. She reconciles with the disappearance of her sister, and her father's suicide, which is quite compelling. The contrast between her trauma and the forest's needs/wants isn't as impactful. I was expecting a darker resolution to this film, and in a sense, it comes to a "happy ending". It is wrapped up well enough to bring the story full circle. The Ranger routine and the forest setting are oddly pleasing until that first shot of someone standing with their back turned in the darkness. Yikes!
Georgina does a fantastic job of selling her character though. She reconciles with the disappearance of her sister, and her father's suicide, which is quite compelling. The contrast between her trauma and the forest's needs/wants isn't as impactful. I was expecting a darker resolution to this film, and in a sense, it comes to a "happy ending". It is wrapped up well enough to bring the story full circle. The Ranger routine and the forest setting are oddly pleasing until that first shot of someone standing with their back turned in the darkness. Yikes!
If you could describe your backside with one word which would it be?
Lovely
Dark
Deep
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