Lovely, Dark, and Deep

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.

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.

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.