Arrow Video, out now

When she learns the supernatural pit worshipped by her remote community in the woods has demanded her as a blood sacrifice, a young girl struggles to find a way to survive. And after fleeing a backwoods cult, a woman tries to turn her life around by taking a job in a home for special needs adults, only to discover that she must face her dark past.

Arrow pair together writer/director Chad Crawford Kinkle’s two features, each themed around rural backwoods communities. For me, Jug Face (AKA The Pit) (2017) is the most effective of the two, following young Ada (Lauren Ashley Carter), an abused young woman who dares to defy the supernatural pit that controls her community.

I’ve no doubt that there are terrifying communities like this, where a bloody pit dictates who lives and dies, and members blindly follow instructions to slit the throats of family members, and that’s what makes it so compelling and shocking. Leader Sustin (Larry Fessenden) and her mother (a vicious Sean Young, Blade Runner) beat Ada, force her into marriage, and hold her responsible for the wrath of the pit – it’s not an easy watch.

Dementer (2019) is less accomplished and feels rougher round the edges. Brandy (Brandy Edmiston) escapes a backwoods cult and takes on a job as a carer. One of her charges is Stephanie (Stephanie Kinkle), a young woman with Down’s Syndrome, who she fears will become a victim of the cult. It’s a more personal film than Jug Face (Stephanie is the director’s sister), but it also feels cheaper, shot in a verité style that’s at odds with the fantasy trappings. It’s OK, but lacks the payoff that the long build up suggests.

There’s no shortage of extras in this set, with Dementer commanding three commentaries, a 24 minute ‘making of’ feature, conversations with the director, short films, trailer and gallery. Jug Face has Zoom Q and As with Kinkle and star Lauren Ashley Carter, as well as a bizarre look at Kinkle’s very own face jug collection.

Verdict: A great way to introduce yourself to the backwoods horror of Chad Crawford Kinkle, with two very different films and a decent collection of extras. 7/10

Nick Joy