This film marks the third installment of a trilogy centered on wild women, with Pollyanna McIntosh consistently portraying The Woman. McIntosh takes on writing and directing duties here, resulting in a technically sound production. I’ve only experienced the prior movie, “The Woman” from 2011; I appreciated the initial portion, but the ending left me feeling uneasy. Similar to this one, there's an undercurrent of dark humor that prevents the story from being taken entirely seriously, though it tackles subjects like slavery, cannibalism, torture, domestic violence, rape, incest and murder—a previous film didn’t quite know how to handle such heavy material. “Cat People” addressed comparable themes in 1982 with greater effectiveness and enjoyment. This latest film improves on some aspects while falling short in others. Lauryn Canny delivers a strong performance as the main character, and the exploration of natural instincts versus institutional conditioning is compelling. However, I found issue with the movie’s questionable ideological stances. For example, there's criticism of societal pressure to shape young women into compliant and intelligent “good girls,” presented alongside the alternative of being a dirty, homeless cannibalistic murderer. What’s preferable? The film seems to suggest that the real monster is the hypocritical religious leader but consider what he does compared to The Woman’s actions. Neither is acceptable, obviously, but which displays greater monstrousness? And which situation better prepares young women for a fulfilling life and participation in any society? The overly virtuous male nurse felt contrived and like an attempt at using film as a tool for social messaging. Come on now. I also chuckled quietly at the way the central character frequently dropped to all fours during the initial scenes, when she should have realized by age 16 or 17 that standing up and walking on two legs was more practical for survival—anywhere. Furthermore, The Woman & Darlin' are wild females who’ve spent most (or all) of their lives living in the wilderness, yet they apparently didn't think to fashion some basic footwear or clothing to cover essential areas of their bodies, even though it's wintertime. Really! The movie has a runtime of 1h 40m and was filmed in 2018, with locations including St. Francisville, East Baton Rouge Parish and surrounding areas in Louisiana. Based on the license plates seen, the setting is supposedly somewhere in Ohio. GRADE: D+

Source on TMDB