Lovely, Dark, And Deep Review: This Slow-Burn Horror Movie Wants You To Stay Out Of The Woods

If there's one thing horror movies have taught us, it's that the woods are a scary place. "The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown," H.P. Lovecraft once wrote, and what's more unknowable than the deep, dark woods? I'm not talking about tiny patches of trees close to highways or Walmart parking lots. I mean the unexplored, uncharted wilderness, so thick with greenery that sunlight only breaks through in tiny open spots. Who knows what could be lurking out there? Wild animals, sure. But maybe, just maybe, something else, too. 

"Lovely, Dark, and Deep" — the title comes from Robert Frost's poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" — is the latest horror movie to warn us about the woods. Here, cosmic horrors lurk within all those trees. Strange, unexplained happenings are just around the bend. In Teresa Sutherland's slow-burn nightmare, the woods of Arvorus National Park hold deep, dark secrets and untold mysteries. Getting lost in these woods could lead to untold horrors. I've never understood the appeal of camping, but if that's your thing, "Lovely, Dark, and Deep" might make you think twice about pitching your tent. 

Lennon (Georgina Campbell, who already faced plenty of horrors in the excellent "Barbarian") is a park ranger assigned to the backcountry. That means she goes deep into the woods of a national park and sets up shop in a small shack. The walls are thin enough that her lantern illuminates the entire building at night, like a shadowbox. It's a lone beacon cutting through impenetrable darkness. By day, she hikes through the woods, listening to podcasts about people who mysteriously go missing in national parks. As it turns out, Lennon has a history with this — when she was a child, her sister vanished in the very national park where she now works. 

We already know Lennon is in some kind of danger because an opening scene reveals the ranger who previously inhabited her shack went missing, walking off into the woods after leaving an ominous note about owing the land a body. Writer-director Sutherland establishes a foreboding mood from the jump, and the shots of the thick woods bring with them a sense of menace, even in broad daylight. 

After a late-night visitor drags Lennon out into the woods, she gets caught up in a new missing person case that brings back haunting memories of her sister's disappearance. Just what is going on here? People disappear in the woods all the time for various reasons, but what if there was something supernatural behind those situations? Supernatural ... or otherworldly? Things go from bad to worse rather quickly for Lennon, and the very nature of reality seems to bend. 

There's plenty of scary atmosphere in "Lovely, Dark, and Deep," but can a film get by on atmosphere alone? I've seen a few films that can coast by on vibes, but "Lovely, Dark, and Deep" begins to feel lost in the woods, meandering along. That's not to say the film is a disappointment — Sutherland has a sharp eye for crafting horror, and there are more than a few frightening visuals here that burn themselves on your brain. 

But as a whole, "Lovely, Dark, and Deep" starts to feel like a short film (or story) stretched to feature length. I was on board with the movie's various chills, but I wanted something more. Campbell is a fine lead who carries almost the entire film single-handedly, existing in nearly every frame, and that goes a long way toward elevating the somewhat thin script. I'm all for slow-burn horror — in fact, I love it. But the slow burn needs to eventually spark. Visually, "Lovely, Dark, and Deep" is a stunner. Story-wise, it's a bit muddled. Still, if the deep, dark woods both call to you and give you pause, "Lovely, Dark, and Deep" might give you a sleepless night or two.

/Film Rating: 5.5 out of 10