Untamed: Is Wild & Shocking Murder Mystery

Untamed (2025/USA) Series is a slow-burning murder mystery that takes place in the scenic locales of Yosemite National Park in California’s Sierra Nevada mountain area. A woman is found dead under mysterious circumstances right at the beginning of the show, and then it leads us to a complex murder investigation.

Fascinatingly, a few of the series’ key characters are trying to escape their painful past and hide in the wild. So, in this layered murder-mystery tale, the slow but steady pace of the probe takes us back and forth between the past and the present.

In FOCUS: A Slow-Burning Murder Mystery Of A Woman Killed In The Wilderness

Series Review [Spoiler-Free]: “Untamed” (Season 1, USA, 2025) English

Introduction

The calm and serene natural beauty of the National Park is a sight to behold. But then the selfish humans come in, with their agendas to sully the pristine beauty of the wild forest. We have been aware of numerous similar criminal cases in the past. And this one, the murder mystery case, is no different.

Synopsis

In the vast expanse of Yosemite National Park, a woman’s brutal death draws a federal agent into lawless terrain, where nature obeys no rules but its own.

Eric Bana stars as a special agent for the National Parks Service whose murder investigation sends him on a collision course with the dark secrets within the park and in his past.

A slow-burning murder mystery

This human crime drama is set in a beautiful forest area, where an eerie feeling is always present. So, in this slow-burning murder mystery, there are quite a few shady characters who are doing questionable acts. Maybe they are trying to escape their painful past. But, can one outrun their past? The past always catches up, in one form or another. And this is what happens in this crime drama. A young woman, Lucy (Ezra Franky), tries to reconnect with her past; however, that gets her into much deeper trouble. And then finally, she ends up dead.

So, two special agents for the National Parks Service, Kyle Turner (Eric Bana) and Naya Vasquez (Lily Santiago), investigate the brutal murder of Lucy in the wilderness. Can these two agents, Kyle and Naya, unmask the killer in this crime thriller?

Poster

Eric Bana & Lily Santiago

In this show, the agent Kyle Turner (Eric Bana) seems to be running away troubled past. However, the pain and grief from his bad old days have never left him. No wonder, he is a rough character. On the other hand, Naya Vasquez (Lily Santiago) is still trying to build a new and safe future for her family, far away from her clear and present danger. She moved away from Los Angeles to Yosemite National Park to escape from her abusive past. But then, as we said earlier, the past tends to catch up with the present.

We liked the lead pair of Eric Bana and Lily Santiago in the show. They make an unlikely pair in this show.

Acting, Direction, & Cinematography

The ensemble cast has done an adequate acting job, as some of them tried to pass themselves off as the murderer. In a crime show such as this, most often the killer hides in plain sight. And this is what happened in this series, too. So, our viewing experience assisted us as we could correctly guess the identity of the killer. The breath-taking beauty of the National Park forest area is magnificently captured by its cinematographers. The show director has brought out the contrasting world of the so-called wild nature and civilised humans in a thought-provoking way. All of them make it an engrossing murder mystery to watch.

Rating

Conclusion

It is interesting to note that the evil wrongdoings of humans are often characterised as animalistic. But, is it so? The issues of abuse and mistreatment of kids are the crux of the subject matter here in this tale. And that is a shocking truth. Perhaps the harsh reality of the society in question. The innocence of childhood is lost because of the selfish adults. The honesty is missing. The lies and deceit rule the world. However, one cannot run and hide for long from one’s true self. Nature takes its own course. And then nature reveals the truth, in its own time.

And to be honest, we remain unconvinced by the explanation and the justification offered by the killer of the young woman Lucy.

So, finally, the untamed become the tamed and get caught. Nature’s justice is done.

Key Details

Trailer

Eric Bana on Draw of ‘Untamed’ Setting: ‘I Hate Filming Indoors’ | YouTube Video

Lastly, read the review of the Caddo Lake (2024/USA) Movie in our Focus Magazine. 

Poster and Featured Image of the Untamed (Season 1/USA/2025) Series are credited to Netflix.