Desolation Wilderness (2011)

Directed by Robby Massey [Other horror films: N/A] & Derek Mungor [Other horror films: You Are Not Alone (2014)]

Desolation Wilderness is a difficult film. On the one hand, I found it decently engaging in it’s experimental, somewhat free-form style, but on the other, it’s hard to get a feel on the conclusion, especially as it doesn’t feel much like a conclusion.

Which I’m sure is partially the point, or perhaps not, as the film may not have wanted to make any point. The base story is solid – two friends go to a secluded cabin to record an album, and slowly things deteriorate (be it reality, mental stability, who can say?), and come the final 15 minutes or so, some things happen.

It’s obviously not a conventional movie, which I rather dug early on – the friends driving up to the cabin was a pretty intriguing sequence in some ways (with great cinematography). Also worth mentioning, most of the film is black-and-white, save for the final ten minutes, which is color. As to whether that signifies something, I couldn’t say, but I can only imagine the film lends itself to a lot of interpretations, which, to quote the Vimeo page for the movie (which may not even be up anymore, so I’m happy I saved this quote), seems to be the point:

“Robby Massey and Derek Mungor conceived of a picture, which wouldn’t present the viewers of its ideas, but invite them to develop their own based wholly on their subjective experiences. Aided by Ralph Jimenez and Darren Orlowski, they approached each sequence in the picture both with an open mind — ready for improvisation and direction based on feeling — and a careful attention to detail — making each choice carefully as to not reveal too much of a discernible theory. Robby Massey and Derek Mungor’s respective theories, in fact, were purposely not revealed to the other until well after the picture was finished — a choice made to insure true misdirections and no solid through-line. (The true through-line, as it is, possibly will never be revealed.)”

No doubt such an approach to a film is fascinating, and Desolation Wilderness is a unique experience, but because so much is left to interpretation, there’s a decent amount about the finale that’s incoherent. I get it – creative expression – and again, I’m not really the intended audience for movies of a more experimental bent – but I would be lying if I said that I didn’t want something – one thing – to be a bit more clear-cut.

Most of the creepiest things in the film don’t pop up until pretty late. You do have what I believe to be a leech early on, and there are some unsettling moments here and there (bolstered by somewhat awkward conversations at different times), but the creepiest stuff, including some messed up television programming, comes in at the end. There’s also some elements of what I take as mental deterioration – the two of them at one point don’t know when the last time they ate or sleep, nor how long they’ve been there – and I dug that.

Personally, it’s a hard movie to truly get a handle on. I appreciated it a lot more than many other more experiment films (ones that come immediately to mind include Eraserhead and Multiple Maniacs), and I thought both Robby Massey and Derek Mungor did a great job, and it gives you something to chew over, but I don’t know if it’s necessarily something I’d enjoy watching again.

What I can say is that Desolation Wilderness is a unique film, and I’d recommend it to people who want something more atypical. I can’t say that it’d appeal to conventional horror movie fans, and I can’t even say this was intended as a horror movie, but it’s definitely something different.

5.5/10