Acorn Media International, out now

On a secluded farm, a man is slowly dying. His family gathers to mourn, and soon a darkness grows, marked by waking nightmares and a growing sense that something evil is taking over the family.

Acorn Media are releasing writer/director Brian Bertino’s (The Strangers) terrifying horror movie, and you’ll need nerves of steel to stay the course. That’s not to say it’s stunningly original or even that bothered about explaining itself – it’s quite simply a finely-tuned scare machine that knows what it wants to achieve, and does so in spades.

Siblings Louise (Marin Ireland, The Umbrella Academy) and Michael (Michael Abbott Jr, Fear the Walking Dead) are visiting the family home to say goodbye to their father, his death inevitable in the coming week. If that wasn’t enough of a trauma to deal with, their mother inexplicably chops off her fingers before hanging herself. And that’s all in the opening ten minutes. Unfortunately for the beleaguered family, things get worse when they discover that their mother was trying to protect the patriarch from the devil, who is waiting to take his soul.

What follows is a relentless series of jump scares as characters start to experience the malevolence of the entity that has taken root in this godforsaken place. The brother and sister start questioning their own sanity as people turn up on the porch who are later revealed to be dead. Can mysterious priest Xander Berkeley (The Walking Dead) provide spiritual support, or is he also a  player in this evil charade?

The home entertainment release has Marin Ireland and Michael Abbott Jr in conversation as an extra.

Verdict: Designed to shred your nerves, even daylight provides no respite in this grim, nihilistic horror movie. Do not watch it alone late at night – you’ll struggle to sleep afterwards. 9/10

Nick Joy