Lovely, Dark, and Deep (2023) by Teresa Sutherland ***2023 Fantasia Festival***

Director: Teresa Sutherland

Year: 2023

Country: Portugal

Alternate Titles: N/A

Genre: Supernatural

Plot:

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.

Review:

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 here 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. 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.

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. That becomes a major stumbling block that holds this one back.

Overview: **/5

An underwhelming if still somewhat watchable genre effort, there are some likable factors here that is worthwhile enough to not make this a total miss although some of the flaws here are quite detrimental. Those that are forgiving of these factors or are appreciative of this style will have the most to like here while those who are turned off by these factors will want to heed caution with this one.

This review is a part of our coverage of the 2023 edition of the Fantasia International Film Festival. Click the banner below to see our complete coverage of the festivities: