User reviews

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.

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]

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.

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.

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.

Georgina Campbell plays a park ranger who joins a flock of fellow officers to work in search and rescue operations.

A series of endless flashbacks show her as a little girl who saw her sister vanish without a trace. Thus, we have an explanation of her career choice.

At least the fashion budget was minimal as Ms. Campbell spends the entire film in a ranger's outfit.

She lives mostly in some sort of a one room cabin in the woods and heads out into the forest repeatedly in search of the lost, which includes her sister.

I was checking my clock every few minutes as I was bored to tears by the nonsensical story and I cannot recommend this movie.

This won't terrify you, but it's a great delve into grief, nature and survival. There's great atmosphere that builds throughout and is a wonderful tale of sacrifice. It is a slow build, but not slow enough you're waiting for the end. I do recommend this, as an avid horror fan, it's not overly gory so a good starting movie for those looking to expand from the mainstream. It's an exciting story that unfolds naturally and the lead is wonderfully merciful and strong. A good female lead that does what needs to be done and doesn't fear anything, as she has already faced her worse fear. Give it a watch, it's a sad and well told tale.

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.

The majority of the movie is a dream sequence that attempts to be scary but isn't because it's obvious none of it is real and all in her head. I see so much praise about the nature in the movie, but you will not see a single animal in this film that takes place in the middle of the wilderness! Nothing natural about that.

And when a character asks the question "what are they?" And the movie responds with "who knows" MY respons is "well then, who gives a f@#k!"

But overall the movie is just plain BORING. You will actually have a better time wandering lost in the woods for a hour and a half. If you take a handfull of shrooms beforehand, you will have literally lived this movie.

If you like movies where the writers are lazy and just create a dream world in the main characters head, then this might be for you. It's a character film. But throughout the movie, you will not feel anything for the main character because she hasn't been fleshed out at all.

You don't really know anything about the character. You don't really care what happens to her.

You don't really know what's going on inside her head.

The only thing you know is that the movie drags and is really slow.

Like I said, super lazy film. Random Gore here and there for no apparent reason. Absolutely dreadful.

On a positive I did like the actress. If it wasn't for her, it would've been one star rather than two. I hope she finds better roles in the future.

A new low has been reached in the horror genre and that is 'Lovely, Dark and Deep'. It doesn't even deserve exclamation points cause it's completely pointless and complete trash.

The story by itself is atrocious, tag it as horror is just plain craziness and even if it were written under the influence of drugs and psychedelic substances, the outcome wouldn't have been worse and even better.

So sad that these wannabe writers and directors just waste money and resources and even sadder that studios are convinced and accept production of such nonsense.

• Screenplay/storyline/plots: 2
• Production value/impact: 1
• Development: 3.5
• Realism: 2
• Entertainment: 2
• Acting: 4
• Filming/photography/cinematography: 6.5
• VFX: 4
• Music/score/sound: 3.5
• Depth: 2.5
• Logic: 0.5
• Flow: 2
• Horror: 0.5
• Ending: 2.

This was a film that popped on to my radar when podcasts were talking highly about it. I knew this would be one that I'd see during the year. There wasn't any new 2024 horror releases at the theater the week that I decided to make this a featured review. I did know ahead of time that Georgina Campbell starred, but that was it.

Synopsis: Lennon (Campbell), a new back-country ranger, travels alone through the dangerous wilderness, hoping to uncover the origins of a tragedy that has haunted her since she was a child.

This starts with a quote from John Muir - 'And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul'. We then see an older park ranger, Ben Varney (Soren Hellerup). He leaves a note on the post that states 'Ranger In'. The note he leaves says, "I owe this land a body".

From there, we are given great establishing shots of where this takes place. It is a national park that is spacious with mountains, forests and lakes. The camera then flips upside and films the land this way. It is from there that we shift to Lennon driving at night. She is biting finger to the point that it bleeds. She stops her vehicle and sees her first ominous sign. A black deer is staring at her. She looks down and back up, it is gone.

Lennon then arrives at the headquarters where there are other rangers. It looks like they're gathering to hear a talk from the one in charge, Zhang (Wai Ching Ho). They're given their assignments and head out to their posts. Another ranger tries to befriend Lennon, Jackson (Nick Blood). She is standoffish though.

Lennon and Jackson are stationed deep in the park. They must go by helicopter. It looks to me that Lennon is assigned the same one that Varney was. Lennon does have another purpose for taking this job. Her little sister disappeared in this park. It has haunted her as the synopsis said. She has a map on the wall of her 'cabin'. Daily she goes out on patrols, trying to find answers. A good touch here is that she listens to podcasts about cases of people disappearing from national parks. They point out things that are similar. One of which is that the shoes seem to be left behind. That is all that was found of Lennon's sister.

It is soon after being out here that Sara Greenberg (Maria de Sá) goes missing. Jackson oversees finding her. Lennon is told to stay back and wait to see if she returns. She doesn't listen and ends up finding the young woman. There's something not quite right here. This is built on the nightmare that Lennon already experiences and it will lead to things she'll never forget, as well as the truth about what is happening here.

That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start with is how much this is based in fact. I know there is a steady number of people who go into parks like this, don't take the necessary precautions and get lost. That is terrifying. It's a good touch to have Lennon listening to a podcast about people going missing. It seems like there are always granite stones nearby and it happens around lakes. When odd things happen to Lennon, it correlates to what she hears on this show. It's also a good touch that during her nightmarish ordeal, it mirrors what happened to her sister when they were kids as well.

I think then I should delve into Lennon. She is determined to find any kind of answer as to what happened when she was a child. She feels guilty because she was supposed to be watching Jenny (Letícia Assunção), her sister. Lennon let her out of her sight and then she disappeared. She blames herself and it still haunts to this day. This isn't a new concept, but I like going a different route than a mother/child. It is odd that she thinks she will find an answer though all these years later. That doesn't ruin the concept for me as there is the idea of closure.

Then from there, I want to explore the conspiracy theory angle. Like I've already said, people disappearing in parks like this isn't something new. It could be animal attacks, a person taking advantage and then hiding the body. Even though the world we live in continues to get smaller, that doesn't mean that it still isn't large. Lennon learns secrets and then soon finds that other rangers know this already. It is terrifying that there is something out in the wilderness, taking people. There is a supernatural feel to it. Personally, I wanted a bit more than what we got. That doesn't change the atmosphere for me though.

I'll then shift to this filmmaking. What this does best is build an eerie atmosphere. The cinematography and framing go along way here. Setting up how large this park is, was the first good thing they did. It is easy to get lost here. Then you go ahead and include the supernatural things that are happening. Like Lennon going from her area to a lake that wouldn't be possible in the time. Now there is a logical explanation that a viewer could go with. Lennon hits her head so she could be dreaming or hallucinating due to a concussion. I don't think this is the answer, but I like sowing the seeds of doubt. There is also nightmare logic that comes into play with Lennon being forced with things of her past and could be in the grips of whatever is behind this for interfering with Sara's disappearance.

Let me then go over to acting. Campbell is good here as our lead. I like the fact that she is fixated when we meet her. You could even go as far to say that it is obsession. She plays this role well. Blood works as this ranger who's been doing this awhile and is willing to befriend Lennon. Ho is fine as the leader of the rangers. I did like this elderly couple, Mick Greer and Celia Williams. They're playing Mr. And Mrs. Finley. They knew Lennon before she became a ranger. Other than that, de Sá and the rangers that they met are fine. I also like Ana Sofia Martins, Ivory Lee Smith, Yamsin Pinto and Assunção. They helped fill in the backstory for Lennon and explain her obsession.

In conclusion, I thought this was a solid movie. I like the fact that we have a basis here where people disappear into the wilderness like we get. Then you couple that with a potential supernatural force being behind them is terrifying. I also like including a logical explanation as well to make us wonder. The acting is good across the board. Campbell leads the way with the rest of the cast pushing her to where she ends up. I loved that. This is made well enough from the cinematography, framing, the limited effects and the sound design. My biggest gripe is that I just wanted to know a bit more about what is going on out there. We have a runtime of under 90 minutes and I just think we're missing one or two reveals to fully drive this home. I still think this is worth a watch.

My Rating: 7 out of 10.

And I guess it's about the woods. Therefore there is minuscule relevance for cheaply robbing its title from the Robert Frost poem.

But there is nothing "lovely" about this movie. It goes for obscure and abstract very early by setting up that the main character might have mental issues. The movie then relies on this exposition to fiddle with what may or may not be real - with lots of trippy visuals and altered audio. And that is the part that will induce vein-throbbing in people who hate this type of cheap plot convention in their horror-based cinema. If I want to watch Fear and Loathing, I'll watch Fear and Loathing.

Also, it purports to be set in the National Park system of the United States of America but has a 100% European feel to it. I don't like pointless deception.

The reveal of what might be going on is a ho-hum snore of any number of lesser X-Files twists . So no, it's not every "deep".

Overall, the movie is more annoying than entertaining. But there are a few scenes at night. I guess that partially justifies the "dark" aspect.

The uniforms and the duct-taped ranger sign things were okay. Otherwise, no.

This is not a movie for everyone, with it's methodical pacing and ambiguously ethereal atmosphere, but anyone who loved the early 90s X-Files episodes that blurred the line between the mythology of the show and the standalone stories should find this entertaining and nostalgic. Georginia Campbell is one of my favourite British actresses ever since Black Mirror and she continues to captivate with her understated yet memorable performance that seem to blend very well with the tone of this movie. I don't wish for there to be a reboot of the classic show, but if there has to be one, then I would love for her to be cast as the main character.

The cinematography was widely shot well, twisty screenplay and deft direction from Teresa Sutherland make for an unsettling nightmare that will follow you to bedtime for children under 12. I did enjoyed the score because it was level higher pitch to a +2 instead of a normal score pitch tone. This is a well-written and well-acted atmospheric haunting. This is a slow burn horror film of this year and don't think too complicated about these perspectives. Critics is wopping 87% is the highest level and yes there should be at least one scare that entertaining me but for the most part, this is done well. "The film's extended second act features a surreal journey through the past and the mind. Existential horror at its most impressionistic, Lovely, Dark, and Deep adopts some truly disturbing visuals, which happen to also be where some of the film's most glaring problems arise. While audiences will inevitably be divided by the film's languid pace, unrealized ambiguity and bottleneck feel, fans of horror that requires patience and empathy will undoubtedly enjoy the sombre mysteries of Lovely, Dark, and Deep - a film well worth getting lost in (MARKO DJURDJIC 2024)".

Echoes of the excellent 'Carnival of Souls' and the nifty but underrated 'Yellow Brick Road' permulate throughtout this outdoors expressionist horror about a female ranger going mad in a forest.

The set up is overly familiar with too much emphasis on her mind unravelling with walking through a twilight world of things unseen then seen, calls in the night, ghostly figures, shattered memories, redundant walkie talkies etc.

The similar 'woman going mad in the woods' Outpost did this rather better , with better acting; nonetheless at 82mins it's short enough too tell its story and end without padding out.

The trailer on this movie was excellent. The delivery of this movie sucked. Hours I can't get back. None of the actors were familiar and they still not familiar. Don't waste your time on this movie. They wasted my time with movie. They tried to get into your mind but the execution of this movie still sucked. This is no M night Shyamalan and you failed. Who made this movie who made it to that is not their calling. Didn't understand the ending of the movie. The movie left you hanging with many horror movies I've ever seen in my life. Movies these movies as far as what a horror movie should be or whatever but they're missing a point of the audience and some of the audience you know they were just like simple horror you know nothing you know to wear it doesn't make sense in some of the world doesn't make sense. This movie is not a horror movie, it's just dumb.

You can always, always tell when a woman writes and directs something, because it ends up bad like this. It embarrasses me as a woman that we can't do better. It starts out with some potential, exploring what life as a ranger might be like and the reasons one might want the job. Then fairly quickly, it all goes down hill. An hour in my husband asked if a woman directed this, and I didn't have to look it up before knowing the answer. As an audience, we are sick and tired of metaphors and dream sequences. This movie has so many gross and unnecessary scenes that aren't remotely related to the plot because some chick thought it would be cool to write a movie about her nightmares and make it, well......one long nightmare. Do better, ladies.