The path to healing after a harrowing teen experience came through art in the form of film for writer and director, Spencer King. His film, The Wilderness, coming to streaming platforms on December 16th after a limited theatrical release, tells a sad but true story.
Ed (Hunter Doohan), slipping into drug addiction after the death of his father, is kidnapped from his bed and taken deep into the Utah desert. There, he meets up with a small group of other troubled teens and their camp advisors for a wilderness therapy experience. Given only meager supplies, he’s told by camp leader, James (Sam Jaeger), that he’s not allowed to eat any food cooked on the campfire until he can start a fire on his own. Thus is Ed’s harsh introduction into an experience that blurs the line between tough love and abuse of power.
Seeing Ed struggling with detox and the fear that comes from not really understanding what’s going on, Miles (Lamar Johnson), another kid at camp, takes pity on him and offers help, very much against the rules. As they get to know one another, Miles begins trying to convince Ed to run away from camp with him.
Director King immerses the audience in Ed’s confusion and anger. It’s not clear at the outset what’s happening to Ed, only that whatever it is, it’s happening against his will with no explanation whatsoever. Only later, when Ed tries to run, is he given a note from his mother, who, at her wit’s end with her son, signed him up for this experience.
As more about Ed and Miles is revealed, along with the other teens, Niko (Matt Gomez Hidaka) and Levi (Aaron Holliday), the filmmaker draws the audience into a sense that not all is right at camp. The suffering the teens endure, mirrors what King himself experienced as a teenager, thrust into a wilderness therapy program.
As a Catholic audience member, the film disturbed me to the core, especially after all the safe environment training I’ve been through as a result of the clergy sex abuse scandal. Just like the movie, Spotlight, brought that story to wide public consciousness, my hope is that The Wilderness will be a vehicle for many conversations about the evils of abuse and ways to prevent it, while still helping teens deal with the difficulties they face in life.