Delicate Arch

Heading out on a weekend trip, a group of friends go out into the desert to get away from society and look into visiting a popular spot in the wilderness, but the longer the trip takes the more the group comes to believe outside forces are keeping them from going through their mission.

This was a rather solid if somewhat problematic genre effort. The early setup to this one involving the group getting together and going out into the desert is a lot more fun than expected, generating enough rather solid points about their past relationship and getting to know them that there's plenty of sympathy generated from the group for once actually feeling like genuine friends. This continues once they head out into the desert and go through the landscape trying to get to their final mission which is where the final half turns into a fun, searing take on meta filmmaking with the series of reveals and twists that arise here, all generating plenty of fun with how everything takes place. There are some issues present here that hold it back. The main drawback here is a lethargic and outright sluggish pacing that plays out at a massively off putting tempo to draw viewers in. Despite the way the group is presented, who are fun to be around and seem like genuine friends that are enjoying a trip like this together, it takes way too long before they even get to the desert much less even further along before something starts happening. The attempts at integrating something with the location potentially influencing them in some way to act like this the longer they're there or the drug use being a cause, but it just never picks up the speed in any degree leaving it to be a struggle to get through.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Language and Violence.

Really. Seriously. In all caps, STUPID. This is the kind of film that makes perfect sense if you have a traumatic brain injury. This is the most common copout in horror film history, and here we are again. I don't know if the film makers didn't have a single idea or if they set out to make the thousandth version of this. Either way, that's where we are. Another instance of "let's go to the desert and see what happens" ends up as another instance of "let's go to the desert and see what happens'. What happens, of course, is nothing interesting. Yet another uninteresting pile of crap. Wouldn't recommend to ANYONE.

This was a film that I got the chance to see thanks to Alex from Simply Legendary Publicity. This is coming to Screambox as an exclusive. That is a streaming service that I'm subscribed to so that piqued my interest more. What made me leery was seeing that this is labeled as a horror/comedy. If they're in that order, I tend to be more of a fan. Outside of that information, I came into this one blind.

Synopsis: four college kids with fracturing relationships take a camping trip in order to escape an ecological disaster. Alone in the desert, they begin to suspect that their reality might not be as it seems and soon realize they're being watched.

We start this off with an interesting scene of the desert. There's voice-over narration done by Katie Self. She is telling us what we're seeing from Wayne (Pat Collins). What is intriguing here is that she says what his job is, he corrects her that he's a high school English teacher. She says another profession to which he agrees with. We then see him pour gasoline on himself from a pump and then walks away.

It then shifts over to seeing Grant (William Leon) with an old video camera filming people from across the way. We then see him as he heads over there and bumps into his friend, Cody (Kevin Bohleber). They're picking up Grant's ex-girlfriend. Her name is Wilda (Kelley Mack). Cody and Wilda were the two that he was spying on. Grant and her broke up, but they're still going on this weekend trip together.

Cody is concerned with the environmental thing that is happening. Instead of going to the lake with everyone else, they're going to this place in the desert. This place is where he used to come while growing up. He wants to collect soil samples due to the event coming. Grant is into film and brought his camera to make a short. He gets mocked from a previous one he made with these friends. They also pick up Wilda's cousin who is a stoner. She is Ferg (Rene Leech).

It is on this drive out to where they're going that Grant has odd flashes. No one else seems to have them. He decides it is better to not drive so Wilda takes over. They stop off for food and Grant has another black out there. The group then drives past a gate that states 'No Camping'. It is questioned, but Cody assures them that it is fine. There are awkward moments between Grant and Wilda. The group has a fun night of telling ghost stories and spooky tales. These make Ferg uneasy as she worries about aliens, cults and biker gangs. The drugs aren't helping.

They get up and go on a hike the following day. They're headed to a formation called Delicate Arch. This is where Cody used to come as a boy. On their walk, they eat psychedelic mushrooms. This is where things start to get surreal. The lines of reality are blurred. Grant also gets a spark of inspiration to make a short film using reflective tape and Ferg's hand. The next morning, Cody and Wilda take Grant's car into town. When they don't come back, it becomes a nightmare to figure out what is really happening.

That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction. Where I want to start is with something I posed in my opening paragraph, the breakdown of the horror to the comedy. This definitely is light on the former elements. I'd say that this does have more comedy, but it worked for me. It comes more from the characters, who are natural with it. They also play well off each other. There is also comedy that comes from the absurdity of things that we see as this goes on and into the surreal. I will avoid spoilers here, but wanted to set this up to start.

Now that I have, let me then delve into what works here. Since I've already praised the comedy that comes from the characters, I do want to start with the acting performances. The group that we follow: Leon, Mack, Bohleber and Leech are great. They feel like they've all known each other for years. There are inside jokes that get under each other's skins and that felt natural. Grant is interesting as I see things that I've done in the past. There are still feelings for his ex and going on this trip with her isn't easy. They're sparked since they're getting along. He also is leery of Cody as it seems like there is something going on between him and Wilda. She is my favorite character as well. I found her cute to start with. She has good comedic timing as well which is a perk. Ferg is great as this stoner friend who gets paranoid. I also like Cody as this eco-centric guy. I want to give credit to all four of these actors.

Let's then shift over to filmmaking since that is also what I enjoyed here. We get this solid cold open with Wayne. From there, we get to meet our main group of characters. There is an uneasy feeling with the environmental issue that is coming, forcing them to flee the city. I don't fully understand why that was used though. I'll credit that the cinematography and framing is good. Editing as well. They're able to capture where this is set. It then goes into the surreal. There were things that happened earlier that didn't make sense. It does get farther into the story. I did like the trippy nature. It reminded me of how unhinged it gets to The Outwaters. It just doesn't go as far into the genre as that one did. There are gripes out there about the use of AI. I can be forgiving there. The practical effects were good though. Soundtrack also fit what was needed as did the sound design.

Where I'll then finish out is with the story. I thought the set up was good. Giving us the reason why these friends are fleeing the city makes sense. Introducing this environmental issue needed more for me though. I do like how the night of telling scary stories gets incorporated back into things. My biggest issue here is the use of a dream sequence. It undoes everything that we got from my understanding. I was along for the ride and the final act dropped the ball for me.

There isn't anything else that I wanted to delve into so I'll say that in conclusion, this film does good things. I think that the group of characters that we follow were good. Their performances bring them to life and they play well off each other. This is well-made with the cinematography, framing and editing helping to build that surreal feel. I even like the practical effects. My problem here is that since we go into the abstract, how things play out doesn't fully make sense and it feels like it undoes what it set up. I'll still recommend this though since it is a trippy ride, especially if what I said sounds good to you.

My Rating: 5.5 out of 10.