By Mark Young
Waking up in a forest, tied to a tree basically suggests that something positively gnarly is going to befall you, especially if you haven’t been on a stag night and you have zero understanding or recollection of how you got there. The opening three minutes or so of Bark set out to unnerve, using a combination of natural sounds generated by Mother Earth as we slowly pan round to the tree in question. The futility comes quickly for Nolan, as the enormity of his situation becomes apparent: he has no food, no water and no way out.
This is a film that is stripped back in almost every way. It isn’t a traditional horror-in-the-woods story, complete with a hulking, indestructible protagonist chasing teenagers. Instead, it centres around our captive and slowly charts his descent as time marches on. Your normal reaction is to be onside with Nolan: why is he there, who is he the victim of? It’s our standard response to a situation like this. It’s only when an outdoorsman turns up that suddenly we find ourselves rethinking why Nolan is there, and the narrative begins to flip. Is it as cut and dried as we first thought? You will need to stay to the end.
Its well-acted with its performances kept grounded and real whilst making the most of its woodland setting to create something convincing without breaking the bank to do so. Those exterior shots are wonderful and contrast with the shots that centre around our captive, which can feel almost too tight for comfort. Some may find that its pace isn’t quick enough, but Bark relies on you being willing to sit and digest a tale that roots its action in one spot and asks its central leads to carry the weight on their respective shoulders. It will engage but you have to give it the chance to do so.
