Blue Finch Releasing, out now

 

A family seek shelter from a powerful storm in the most secure room of their house. But are there greater forces at work than extreme weather?

Sean King O’Grady’s intense single-location horror movie is a curious beast, veering between family-in-peril thriller and occult horror. Unfortunately, it falls between both stools and is neither that thrilling nor particularly horrific.

The big issue here is that the family is so dysfunctional right from the outset. The father, Robert (Pat Healy), is such an obnoxious caricature of a man that you do not for second believe that he’d still be part of the family, who are holed in their bathroom after a tree blocks the door. He is vile, and you’re counting down the minutes until something horrific happens to him.

The daughter, Melissa (Sierra McCormick, American Horror Stories), is worried that her girlfriend and her somehow created this strange cosmic event through their dabbling in black magic. Truth be told, we have no idea what’s going on outside. Has a bomb dropped, are there monsters or aliens? Unfortunately, this wannabe 10Cloverfield Lane or Right at Your Door is overcome by histrionics, and by the last 10 minutes it has gone off the rails, if you’re still there. Noisy, irritating and unsatisfying.

Verdict: Featuring one of this year’s most obnoxious characters, it’s hard to be sympathetic towards such a damaged family unit, whatever’s going on outside. 4/10

Nick Joy

 

We Need to do Something is on digital now from Blue Finch Film Releasing