Starring: Rafe Spall, Sam Troughton, Robert James-Collier, Arsher Ali

Directed by David Bruckner

Entertainment One, in cinemas now

Four thirty-something college mates go on a hiking trip in the Swedish mountains to celebrate the life of a recently-departed friend, but when they are forced to steer from the path, things go from bad to worse.

David Bruckner (V/H/S and Southbound) has taken Adam Nevill’s award-winning 2011 horror novel of the same name and created a tense, low-budget British horror that will be remembered for all the right reasons. It helps that he has a strong cast – Rafe Spall, Sam (grandson of Patrick) Troughton, Robert James-Collier and Arsher Ali – who feel like the sort of people you know or could reasonably spend time with. They have a long-standing friendship, and it’s the deterioration of this dynamic that descends from cheeky banter to pure hostility that ramps up the tension.

None of these guys are idiots and they realise when they take a short cut through the woods that this is a risk. They even joke about what a bad idea this is, and when they encounter a cabin in the woods (complete with rune signs and wicker effigies) Arsher Ali even groans: “Great, so this is the place where I’m going to die!” It’s refreshing that you’re not shouting at the people who are doing dumb things – there’s a painful inevitability to it all and you wonder who, if anyone, is going to make it out alive.

Apart from the obvious The Cabin in the Woods and The Wicker Man comparisons, you can throw in The Blair Witch Project, Severance, The Cottage, Kill List, Deliverance, The Hills Have Eyes… the list goes on. That’s not to say it doesn’t have anything original to say… there’s some nice design in the big bad when we eventually get to see what’s been stalking the hikers.

Verdict: It’s not the most original horror movie of the year, but for tension and thrills it’s a tidy little treat that more than warrants 94 minutes of your life. 8/10

Nick Joy