‘THE RANGER’ Review

After a rowdy night of partying at a punk club, Chelsea (Chloe Levine) and her friends have to take off quickly after a police raid. Seemingly cornered by an officer, Chelsea’s friend Garth (Granit Lahu) attacks him with a knife. Needing to get away and on the lam, Chelsea travels with friends out to her uncle’s cabin to hide out. It’s here that they are confronted by a tall, stoic park ranger (Jeremy Holm), who warns the kids to leave the woods alone, and obey the rules. They do not. He reciprocates by teaching them some fatal lessons. There’s also a strange connection between Chelsea and the ranger that we will soon discover.

So much of what works about The Ranger is the throwback vibe that feels retro and modern at the same time. We don’t really get a date stamp on when the movie is set; everything here feels dated but there are moments when you feel like we’re in this era. One thing is for sure: punks getting picked off by a deranged psychopathic park ranger is EXACTLY the kind of movie one would imagine seeing on the video shelves in the late 80’s. It’s one that co-writer/director Jenn Wexler probably would have rented. She clearly has a lot of love for the genre and the bygone era of the slasher, even a semi-socially conscious one. The park ranger represents the revenge of mother nature on those who disrespect it, and he’s an imposing, cool villain.

Wexler’s learned much as a producer for indie horror entries like Mickey Keating’s 2015 film Darling and 2017’s Psychopaths, and has a visual flair that feels well developed. She brings a nice rebellious, punk aesthetic to the movie that we haven’t seen in a long time. I appreciate the attempt at creating something more than simply a slasher in the woods, and introducing a connection between our protagonist and antagonist, but it also ends up feeling like an addition that didn’t really need to be there. The idea of elevating the movie out of the tropes is admirable, just not necessary. It does end up paying off in the climax, so I’ll give credit where it’s due.

A distinct visual style with a low budget and a cabin in the woods sounds awfully familiar, but there’s something different about this specific take on the genre trope. There’s no reinvention here, just a well crafted love letter. It’s some brash, bloody fun. Wexler’s one to watch.

Glass Eye Pix has opened The Ranger for a weeklong run in New York, the film just premiered in London last week, and will soon open for a weeklong run in L.A.’s Laemmle Theater from September 7th – 14th! We’ll keep you posted on when this will get a VOD release in the near future.