|
|
THE RANGER
Director: Jenn Wexler Cast: Chloe Levine, Jeremy Holm, Granit Lahu, Jeremy Pope, Bubba Weiler, Amanda Grace Benitez, Jeté Laurence, Larry Fessenden MPAA
Rating: Running Time: 1:17 Release Date: 8/17/18 (limited); 9/7/18 (wider) |
|
Capsule review by Mark Dujsik | August 16, 2018 In The Ranger, a group of punks escapes into the woods, only to be killed off one at a time by their mortal enemies: nature and a figure of authority. Co-writer/director Jenn Wexler's feature debut is an occasionally nasty and wholly predictable horror story. It's admirable for its salaciously gory thrills, accomplished on a miniscule budget, and a singularly odd performance from Jeremy Holm, who plays the psychopathic forest ranger who targets the punks. It's a piece of acting that doesn't just go over the top. It finds a nice, little perch up there and comfortably grounds itself in that wacky reality. Holm's ranger has a history with Chelsea (Chloe Levine), who used to visit her uncle's cabin in the wooded mountains until his untimely death. Now, she's involved with a group of friends who go to punk rock concerts, are planning a big drug deal, and, at the story's start, find themselves on the lam after a violent run-in with the cops. The cabin could provide a refuge for Chelsea, her boyfriend Garth (Granit Lahu), their friends Jerk (Jeremy Pope) and Abe (Bubba Weiler), and Amber (Amanda Grace Benitez), a straggler whose van the four friends steal during their getaway. Instead, the quintet is terrorized and hunted by the ranger, who has the laws of his terrain memorized and enacts twisted, decisive justice against anyone who breaks the rules. One of the friends is shot twice (the second time as an act "mercy"), and another has to free himself from a bear trap before the ranger's countdown ends (The ranger takes a grisly souvenir of the encounter). While Chelsea and Garth try to radio for help from the ranger's cabin, another friend tries to use the phone at a nearby gas station, where he momentarily seems to forget what an axe can do to a human body. These aren't the smartest of potential survivors/probable victims, and that diminishes a lot of the possibility for thrills in Wexler and Giaco Furino's barebones screenplay. Almost making up for that significant flaw is Holm's performance, which is equal parts ridiculous and chilling. As for The Ranger itself, it never finds a personality to match or complement its crazy villain, meaning that everything and everyone surrounding Holm are routine or bland. Copyright © 2018 by Mark Dujsik. All rights reserved. |
Buy Related Products
|
