When Chelsea and her friends get in trouble with the cops, they flee the city and go on the run. Fueled by a hallucinogenic drug called Echo, they hope to lay low-and get high-in an old family hideout in the woods. But Chelsea’s got reservations about going back to nature and secrets she’s not sharing with her friends. When a shot rings out, her past comes crashing back, and the punks find themselves pitted against the local authority- an unhinged park ranger with an axe to grind.
It’s a little earlier in the year, but this may be the best genre trailer of 2018. The Ranger looks like an updated slasher in the woods: the actors are reminiscent of touring crust punks you think twice about letting crash on your couch, the scenery is beautiful but you know it’ll be covered in blood soon, and Jenn Wexler (Darling, Psychopaths) is in the director’s chair. Is it going to be groundbreaking? Probably not, but we’ll at least get a cameo from Larry Fessenden.
The Ranger premieres at SXSW on Monday, March 12 with additional screenings on Tuesday, March 13 and Thursday, March 15. No further screening information is currently available.