Robert Frost fans will recognise the title of this psychological horror. Taken from the poem Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, the relevant lines run thusly: “The woods are lovely, dark and deep. /But I have promises to keep, /And miles to go before I sleep, / And miles before I go to sleep.” This is a neat, if oblique, way of describing writer-director Teresa Sutherland’s debut film, which sees a newly minted park ranger head into the wilderness, after the disappearance of a young woman, to confront shadowy forces interested in stealing more than just your picnic basket.
The national park in question has a long history of various vanishings (but what desolate rural region of the US does not?), and the plucky ranger is also processing a personal trauma dating back to childhood (but what lead character in a 2020s horror movie is not?). Naturally, the disappearances and trauma will intersect.
Georgina Campbell is well cast in the lead role: a compelling, likable heroine in the excellent Barbarian from 2022, here she achieves a balance between vulnerability and strength that means you’re rooting for her to survive, but she’s not an invincible badass. Victory is not a foregone conclusion; she is resourceful, but she’s up against something vast and terrifying.
However, the forces of darkness in Lovely, Dark, and Deep are less than clearcut. Up to a point, this looseness is intriguing, though there comes a time where the bit of your brain that hungers for a satisfyingly neat resolution may start to grumble. Counterbalancing this is the fact that the vibes-based horror is beautifully staged, with plenty of creepy dream-logic tableaux playing out with gnarly charm and a well-judged sense of atmosphere. Perhaps in this instance, a sense of place trumps plot; props then, to cinematographer Rui Poças who conjures an entirely plausible and creepy vision of the moonlit American wilds out of what is in fact the landscapes of his native Portugal, where the film was principally shot. Like the film itself, it’s a bit of sleight of hand, but one that’s rather effective.
• Lovely, Dark, and Deep is on digital platforms from 25 March.
