A chilling take on 80s teen horror films

Rating: 10/10 (10 March 2015)

From the moment the film opens to the last seconds, there is always a sense that something isn't right. The music is hinting at an inevitable threat, the camera is slowly panning or tracking in order to help reveal what is lurking, and the actors interactions with one another make the audience forget that at any moment "it" will appear. Director David Robert Mitchell does something that many horror-genre filmmakers have lost sight of: what scares people the most is their imagination. Yes, the film occasionally showcases some terrifying images, but it's the moments when everything seems fine where the fear skyrockets out of the audience. I'm not going to say that this is the scariest film I've ever seen, but when it resembles the thread of "A Nightmare on Elm Street," the tension of "Alien," and the style of "The Conjuring," it comes pretty close to it. It is very original, well executed, and a refreshing film for all cinephiles. But most importantly, it stays with you even after the movie ends and makes you question your actions...and your surroundings.