Georgina Campbell (Barbarian) stars in this beautifully shot and uneasy thriller about a woman searching for missing people in a Canadian national park. There are some wobbles in writer/director Teresa Sutherland’s screenplay, but that is more than made up for in terms of style and tone. The film – Sutherland’s feature debut – promises a great career ahead.

Lennon (Campbell) begins a lengthy tour as a park ranger in the Canadian backcountry. She lives by herself in a small hut, and patrols a defined region of undeveloped wilderness to support and aid hikers and campers in the area. While searching for a missing hiker, it becomes clear that there is something in the woods with her – something linked to her own traumatic past.

The estimates vary, but by any measure a lot of people go missing in national parks. This is certainly the case in Canada – which has forested wilderness to spare – and it’s a phenomenon that proves fertile creative territory for Lovely, Dark, and Deep. Sutherland’s film makes it clear that something is out in the deep forest causing people to vanish, and much of its appeal lies in waiting to find out precisely what that presence is.

To be honest the real star of the film is cinematographer Rui Poças, whose atmospheric and haunting vistas of the forested wilderness dominate. They are astonishing when they want to be, and insidiously creepy when required. They effectively define the whole enterprise. Forests have always been fodder for scary stories, and Poças absolutely excels in showcasing both their beauty and the sense of menace. Even the familiar refrain of bushwalking becomes deeply unsettling in the right context: ‘Leave but footprints. Take nothing but memories. Kill nothing but time.’

Georgina Campbell gives an excellent lead performance, and while her co-stars are rather less accomplished they still succeed in a functional, plot-progressing fashion. Nick Blood falls rather flat as neighbouring ranger Jackson, but it is difficult to tell whether it is the script letting the actor down or the actor failing to build a sufficiently interesting character himself. Perhaps it is both. Wai Ching Ho fares a little better as a senior ranger administering the region, but her character remains underdeveloped in favour of Campbell’s.

Later sequences in the film fail to work as effectively as earlier ones, relying on some overly familiar visual imagery and themes. They do not ruin the film by any means, but they do work to deliver something less interesting than what early scenes promise. It is a standard risk in horror cinema: the more you explain, the less ominous and scary the story becomes.

In the end, it is the tone and the visuals that work the greater magic. It proves an evocative viewing experience.

Lovely, Dark, and Deep is screening at the 2023 Fantasia Film Festival. Click here for more information.