Movie Review: THE LONG DARK TRAIL

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN / Staff Writer

Posted: February 24th, 2023 / 01:22 AM

THE LONG DARK TRAIL movie poster | ©2023 Cleopatra Entertainment

Rating: Not Rated
Stars: Carter O’Donnell, Brady O’Donnell, Mick Thyer, Paul “Doc” Ignatius, Trina Campbell, Nick Psinakis
Writers: Nick Psinakis & Kevin Ignatius
Directors: Nick Psinakis & Kevin Ignatius
Distributor: Cleopatra Entertainment
Release Date: February 21, 2023 (digital and home video)

THE LONG DARK TRAIL has beautiful cinematography, by Mitchell Kome, of gorgeous woodland splendor. It has a lovely folky score by Kevin Ignatius, who wrote and directed the film with Nick Psinakis. It also has the virtue of brevity, clocking in at an hour and eleven minutes, not counting end credits.

What THE LONG DARK TRAIL doesn’t have is scares, which is a problem for a horror movie. Further, it doesn’t have much plot logic, which is a problem for most narratives of any genre, let alone one that divides itself into onscreen titled chapters (“Chapter 1: Absconded,” “Chapter 2: Provisions,” etc.).

When we meet teen brothers Henry (Carter O’Donnell) and Jacob (Brady O’Donnell), they are sharing a bed in a cabin in the woods, across the room from their father Duane (Mick Thyer), who is asleep in his own bed.

We see the boys tie Dad to the bed in what at first seems to be a prank, until he wakes up and starts screaming vicious threats. The boys run outside, grab their bikes and pedal away.

A title tells us we’re in northwest Pennsylvania (the end credits reveal that the film was shot in Warren County, PA, which, as seen here, is quite beautiful). Brady wants to just hang out at the river.

This seems both a bit tame and somewhat dangerous after the morning’s adventure. Their father is extremely, violently abusive and may do who knows what if he can get his hands on his sons; tying him up seems an extreme measure if they were simply going to spend the day nearby and have to go back to him in the end.

Henry, however, wants to go in search of their mother (Trina Campbell), who left the family some time ago. The two youths both fear that she departed because she didn’t love them. It can absolutely be argued that a loving mother wouldn’t leave her children with that particular father, but it also feels like it ought to at least occur to the boys that she was fleeing her husband.

Since the promos tell us that Mom joined a murderous cult, Henry and Jacob are heading into even more trouble than they are leaving behind.

The boys have some odd adventures in the forest, with Jacob having visions and Henry getting a mysterious rash. And then …

There are so many unanswered questions in THE LONG DARK TRAIL that, spoilers aside, there’s no point in posing them all. Story fragments that seem like they ought to connect don’t add up. While we see the cult, and some gore, we learn so little about it that it comes off less ominous than inexplicable.

With THE LONG DARK TRAIL, we can feel the filmmakers’ enthusiasm for making movies and for their evocative environments. They assembled a good production team, but didn’t craft a script to match.

Follow us on Twitter at ASSIGNMENT X
Like us on Facebook at ASSIGNMENT X

Latest Buzz

Movie Review: THE LONG DARK TRAIL

Gorgeous scenery, no scares

Article Source: Assignment X
Article: Movie Review: THE LONG DARK TRAIL

Related

Related Posts:

Leave a Comment

Assignment X Poll

Newsletter subscription status

Latest Buzz

Movie Review: THE LONG DARK TRAIL

Gorgeous scenery, no scares

Article Source: Assignment X Article: Movie Review: THE LONG DARK TRAIL

Related

Related Posts:

Leave a Comment

Assignment X Poll

Article Source: Assignment X
Article: Movie Review: THE LONG DARK TRAIL