The Ranger (2018)

I will start by saying that I really liked Chloë Levine as Chelsea. Well, I thought her performance was not bad at all. Levine is one of those actresses who can say so much through a look, her eyes, her mouth. My interest in her wasn't just because she's very pretty, but I liked how you can see so much going behind her eyes. That moment where she realizes The Ranger (Jeremy Holm) is out and inside the store, trying to pass him by before he could notice her is such an example. That whole scene after leaving the store where Chelsea tries to avoid eye-to-eye contact with The Ranger, hoping he doesn't realize she's "little wolf" while her posse of anarchist coke-snorting, cop-hating punks (with their jacket name as "Scumbags") bring up her cabin (shared with her deceased uncle, played by Indie Multi-tasker, Larry Fessenden), is one of my favorite pieces of acting with Levine of the film. I dug her.

Holm's Ranger is a silly psycho right out of the 80s who reminded me of Robert R Shafer's "Psycho Cop", Officer Joe Vickers. Holm laughs and smiles with a lot of teeth, but I just never found him menacing or charismatic. When he's killing Chelsea's drug-dealing boyfriend (Granit Lahu) and her entourage, I thought I'd have a good time, particularly since you have these urban punks outside their environment in the wilderness/mountains. But Holm didn't really have that presence I was anticipating, while the cast as punks felt like cosplayers in costume. There is some potent violence through the use of a rifle (with a kick), a bear trap (the victim has to pull his leg out, severing his foot), an ax (right in the jugular), and, especially, binoculars. Levine can swing a mean pair of binoculars.

The plot is really simple: The Ranger took the wrap for Chelsea's accidental shooting of her uncle, expecting her to be appreciative of it. Grown up with pink hair and battling life as a junkie, linked to a drug dealer, snorting a lot of that product in the back of a punk club with her friends, Chelsea has the cabin in the woods on the outskirts of the city. Logistically, I'm not exactly sure how far the woods are from this city. When her boyfriend stabs a cop as the police arrive at the club for a drug bust, the group flee to Chelsea's cabin. The Ranger who took the blame for Chelsea's rifle shot into her uncle wants her back into the fold, but she isn't so ready for that shit. The Ranger considers her friends the reason she's fallen so far, complete with heroin needle holes in the arm, deciding they must be executed and removed from her life. Hence, the slasher formula kicked in gear, going an absolutely predictable route. The Ranger's weakness is not taking Chelsea seriously, pretty much suffering his fate because he lets his guard down.

Again, I'll reiterate: some slasher gore, punks who think the wilderness cabin is theirs to do whatever they want only to realize The Ranger calls the shots, and Chelsea capitalizing on the killer's affection for her. There is a scene with Holm dressed in fur skins howling, and mentioning government codes as Park Ranger before killing the punks. Levine is a plus for me...when she is the focal point, the film isn't a total drag. The rest of the cast, including Holm, just do nothing for me. Chelsea's entourage love to party, disregard any rules, say fuck you to everyone, and die horribly. As a slasher film, I'll forget about The Ranger (2018) in a week or so. 2/5

I will say that the direction isn't really to blame for the film's bland story or what results from it. I found myself quite drinking in the attractiveness of the director's style, and a camera that follows Levine's face and captures all of her reactions was appreciated by me. I just wished I cared more about everything else besides Levine.