The output of female horror directors tends to be thoughtful. And there are some legitimately terrifying scenes in Lovely, Dark, and Deep. Nobody, however, has posted a Wikipedia entry on Teresa Sutherland. At least not yet. This movie is obviously aware of David Paulides’ work. It went by a little quickly, but I think one of his books even made it into the film. Lovely, Dark, and Deep is set in the fictitious Arvores National Park in California. (Interestingly, the movie was filmed in Portugal.) Lennon is a newly hired park ranger with what she thinks is a secret. Her motivation is to search for her sister, who went missing in the park when they were kids. If you like movies with flashlights in the forest at night, this is your film.
Lennon discovers that she’s not the only one with secrets. Many people have gone missing in the park and the rangers know about it. Some entity that they can’t identify requires people to be left behind. There is a quid pro quo relationship involved. If one of the taken ones is rescued, a substitute must be left. Lennon learns that her sister was one of those taken, and once taken a person can’t come back. They live in a nightmare world while their family and friends have to deal with the loss. Lennon has trouble accepting this arrangement, but there is nothing to be done about it except pretend you don’t know it’s happening.
The movie gets its teeth from the fact that many people do go missing in National Parks. And, as Paulides suggests, there is no public register kept. Some who are found are often inexplicably miles from where they went missing, or their bodies are found in areas already thoroughly searched. This is obviously a great concept for a horror film. Sutherland, who wrote as well as directed the movie, has the makings of an art horror auteur. Lovely, Dark, and Deep hasn’t received a lot of attention yet, but I think it deserves to. Wilderness horror films have so much potential. Particularly for people who seldom spend any real time in the forest. Even those of us who have braved the wilds from time to time can find it frightening. More than that, this is a movie that makes you think. For anyone who likes to theologize films, it definitely has the theme of sacrifice running through it. Deep is appropriately part of the title.
