The Ravine is directed by Keoni Waksman. The world premiere of this film work took place on May 2, 2021. Residents of a small town one weekday suddenly learn that Rachel Turner and her son Evan have been brutally murdered. Some time later, her husband’s car is found at the bottom of the gorge. The medical examiner finds out that he committed suicide. Is there a certain relationship in these events and who committed the brutal murder?
What is the movie The Ravine about?
This is a story about evil, hope, and the afterlife. The film is positioned as a mystical thriller. But there is not even a hint of his “true” nature in it. It is more likely to be attributed to the subgenre of “Christian films”.
The unsuspecting audience is witnessing this convoluted story from the very beginning. The motivation of the killer, who brutally killed his wife and son, becomes the “dark side”. At least, this is what the clairvoyant says, “talking with a heavenly representative.” This is an elderly black woman with a quiet voice, conveying messages from the afterlife…
The head of the family. Scott Peterson destroys his family. At the same time, he does not call for any “evil” or “angel”. A lot of arrogance, misogyny, titles, selfishness – that’s what makes the father kill his entire family.
Only people who do not know the Bible can claim that the film “The Ravine” is inspired by Christianity. First, nowhere in the Bible do the dead use mediums to communicate with the infernal world or warn the living. Secondly, in Christianity there can be no forgiveness without repentance.
This film is a hodgepodge of convoluted and bewildering spirituality, mostly told in a monotonous, sugary voice.
There are banal dialogues. The film contains a call to understand the reasons for the act of a monster who killed his own wife and child for no other reason. This is argued by the fact that he was only “owned by darkness.” This oppressive atmosphere is emphasized by the black fog around Scott Peterson. But viewers are not so naive as not to be able to distinguish between good and darkness, supported by animation.
Everything in the film is shown without respect for the families who survived such real tragedies. As if the father of the family did not vouch for himself, but mysticism forced him to do so. He kills his son. But still, an angel intervened to save the last child.
The film contains a lot of sermons and introspection, crying, wailing and gnashing of teeth. And then a medium “whispering to the gods” appears, she consoles, and everything falls into place.
We can note the excellent play of the actors Teri Polo, Eric Dane, Peter Facinelli, good direction and camera work against the backdrop of a too long, intricate plot with dead ends, a lot of time travel (jumping back and forth, insights).
The meaning of the film The Ravine
The soundtrack doesn’t quite match the various years the cinematic narrative is about, but it’s very good. The film itself is quite pretentious and too religious. The only meaning here is repentance and gratitude to heaven for forgiveness. The film also contains a call to never repeat this kind of atrocity again. The film is built on spirituality, grief and redemption. It’s more of a drama than a murder mystery.
But it’s also like two completely different films cut in half and then glued together. If the director and screenwriters had strictly adhered to the detective theme or the Christian theme of forgiveness and overcoming evil, then it would have turned out well. But sometimes a lot of unreasonable and illogical “spiritual” nonsense, disguised as a detective crime drama, slips in this film work. This movie is incredibly manipulative. Everything starts great, with good acting. The screenwriter explains the importance of forgiveness.
On a daily basis, people must exercise their own free will, make intelligent choices, force themselves to do what is right for loved ones, friends and society as a whole. Do not cherish your own selfishness. Then the whole meaning of the film is distorted with an attempt to find justification in Peterson’s atrocity. The viewer is given a situation where Scott Peterson not only brutally dealt with members of his family, but also committed suicide. This will have a detrimental effect on him in the afterlife, his soul will hover between the worlds for a long time, bearing the sin of murder, and because of the committed suicide, it will also be restless.
The director and screenwriters probably had in mind that someday the soul of the criminal would receive forgiveness from above. In any case, the audience will have to reflect on this and draw their own conclusions, not forgetting the need for repentance and forgiveness.
Explanation of the ending of the film The Ravine
There is no mystery in the finale of the film work. The viewer immediately understands who did what, and throughout the entire viewing is perplexed about how you can forgive an evil person who does not deserve any mercy. But the main message of the finale of the film is that any person needs to put his own inner world in order, he must forgive everyone, regardless of the meanness of their actions.
All in all, The Gulch, directed by Keony Waxman, would make a good thriller, but it has a lot of Christian overtones.
