While dealing past emotional trauma, Joy joins her friend’s therapy group on an isolated mountain retreat. Led by a doctor who uses experimental therapy treatments, the group is stalked by malevolent creature.

It has been several weeks since The Cutting Room last viewed a truly standout screening. With a respectable 72% on Rotten Tomatoes boosting expectations. Had a genuine contender finally emerged in the Canadian survival horror, Dark Nature?

The short answer is no.

The film opens with what initially appears to be an unnecessary deep dive into the main character, Joy’s toxic relationship. However, the pace quickly shifts gears, offering a “politician’s promise” of a much more visceral and engaging story. It’s a bait-and-switch that implies a forthcoming story with some depth, yet the momentum doesn’t hold.

Unfortunately, the promising start soon gives way to a sluggish middle act. The pacing slows to a crawl, eventually landing in territory that is—just plain boring. There are a few competent performances and the script is okay but the central hook does not do much for the audience; watching a group of women trek through the woods while dissecting their individual traumas. These scenes feel more like a tedious endurance test than a thriller.

There is a glimmer of payoff late in the second act, but it is not enough to justify the journey. For a film that explores the “dark nature” of the mind and the wild, the most disappointing element is how little of it makes any sense or really bothers to try and entertain. Ultimately, Dark Nature is a journey that doesn’t quite warrant the journey through the woods.

Final cut: There are better survival movies out there. Dark naure is currently available on Amazon Prime.