THE WILDERNESS movie poster | ©2025 Dark Star Pictures

Rating: Not Rated
Stars: Hunter Doohan, Lamar Johnson, Aaron Holliday, Vinessa Shaw, Matt Gomez Hidaka, James Le Gros, Sean Avery, Sam Jaeger, Arie Thompson
Writer: Spencer King
Director: Spencer King
Distributor: Dark Star Pictures
Release Date: October 17, 2025 (theatrical), December 12, 2025 (digital)

Reformatories for wayward youth take various forms. They are not always well-regulated and often seem designed with priorities other than their purported function of helping troubled teens.

Written and directed by Spencer King, THE WILDERNESS aims to draw attention to this issue. Set in an Outward Bound-type camp in Utah, its protagonist is Ed (Hunter Doohan), a sixteen-year-old who we meet as he’s being dragged out of his bed in the middle of the night.

Ed is then driven, blindfolded in the passenger seat of a pickup truck, to the middle of nowhere. James Bixby (Sam Jaeger) has founded this place and is chief counselor here, with two assistants, Rich (Sean Avery) and Malorie (Arie Thompson).

The brochure reads, in part, “Welcome to the Wilderness – Doing the Lord’s Work since 2001.” We see a video of James talking about the program, which he describes as being founded on “discipline, trust, and faith.”

At first, Ed doesn’t want to speak, but hunger and a headache finally get the better of him. His tentmate is Miles (Lamar Johnson), who isn’t thrilled to be here, either. Both have had drug habits and some petty theft activity in their pasts.

There are confusing rules that seem to be unenforceable about who is allowed to talk to whom and when. While the Wilderness is meant to teach survival skills to the boys, it doesn’t otherwise appear to be set up to prepare them for life in the world, with no evident education in reading or math, let alone larger topics like history or geography, or even the “faith” touted in the paperwork.

Ed, Miles, hostile Levi (Aaron Holliday), and quiet Niko (Matt Gomez Hidaka) are tasked with making portable gear out of branches, digging latrine holes and going on long hikes.

Mostly, they are understandably bored, which wouldn’t seem to be the best way out of addiction.

Unfortunately, despite sensitive performances from Doohan and Johnson, we share the young men’s disconnection. The desert scenery is pretty but not so beautiful as to distract us from observing that it takes about an hour of running time before a plot emerges.

At this point, we’re meant to guess whether we’re watching a straight drama or a thriller. When we get to the climax, we get an answer, but we are still left with a lot of questions.

Each scene on its own is credible, and filmmaker King puts a spotlight on a matter that warrants more public attention. However, THE WILDERNESS as a film does not match the urgency of the subject it examines.

Related: Movie  Review: 100 NIGHTS OF HERO
Related: Movie  Review: MAN FINDS TAPE
Related: Movie Review: WICKED: FOR GOOD
Related: Movie Review: HAMNET
Related: Movie Review: THE RUNNING MAN
Related: Movie Review: LAST DAYS
Related: Movie Review: CHAIN REACTIONS
Related: Movie Review: PETER HUJAR’S DAY
Related: Movie Review: DIE MY LOVE
Related: Movie Review: YOUR HOST
Related: Movie Review: SHELBY OAKS
Related: Movie Review: QUEENS OF THE DEAD
Related: Movie Review: SCURRY
Related: Movie Review: BEAST OF WAR
Related: Movie Review: SOLVENT
Related: Movie Review: BLACK PHONE 2
Related: Movie Review: GOOD FORTUNE
Related: Movie Review: ROOFMAN
Related: Movie Review: AFTER THE HUNT
Related: Movie Review: THE DROWNED
Related: Movie Review: KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN
Related: Movie Review: SHELL
Related: Movie Review: GOOD BOY

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

Article Source: Assignment X
Article: Movie  Review: THE WILDERNESS

Related Posts: