Common Sense Media Review
By Jennifer Green
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Language, violence, and drugs in tough teen rehab tale.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
The Wilderness
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
Teenager Ed (Hunter Doohan) is pulled aggressively from his home and transported to an outdoor wilderness therapy program run by child psychologist James (Sam Jaeger) at the start of THE WILDERNESS. There, he meets other "troubled teens," like Miles (Lamar Johnson), Nico (Matt Gomez Hidaka), and Levi (Aaron Holiday). Their days are filled with grueling hikes in the desert and therapy sessions. Misbehavior is punished with isolation or worse. Will the program help these teens, or is something more ominous going on?
Is It Any Good?
This film drops you from the opening scene directly into the story of a teen grabbed from his home and sent to an outback wilderness camp. The Wilderness is told from Ed's perspective, and we gather information and question events alongside him as he becomes increasingly more clear-eyed. In this sense, the film does a fine job of illustrating how programs like these, often a last resort for overwhelmed parents, can seem to offer a positive experience for teens in need of direction and detoxification.
The program leader is set up as a potential savior, yet glimpses of something less wholesome are woven in from the start. These are supported by the cinematography, which captures faces lit by fires in the darkness of the desert or eyes framed ominously in a rearview mirror. There may be some very helpful outdoor therapy programs in existence, but this film's intentions are clearly to question their methods and safety. Flashbacks showing Ed's foray into drugs at the hand of his father add heartbreak to the tale and suggest there are bigger societal troubles at play here too.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the pros and cons of outdoor therapy programs, like the one depicted in The Wilderness. Where can you find more information about them and the statistics provided at the end of the movie?
How does the film sow mistrust of its characters? Can you pinpoint specific moments in the film when Ed (and you, the viewer) start to question others' motives?
How does the remote desert setting help define the mood and tone of this film?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : December 16, 2025
- Cast : Hunter Doohan , Sam Jaeger , Lamar Johnson
- Director : Spencer King
- Inclusion Information : Gay Movie Actor(s) , Black Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Dark Star Pictures
- Genre : Drama
- Topics : Friendship
- Run time : 107 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : December 16, 2025
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