101 Films, on digital platforms now

A religious fanatic father puts the fear of God into a stranded group of boys on a road-trip gone wrong. Is it too late to save their souls?

While this horror movie from directors Brad Helmink and John Rauschelbach (The Lodge) follows a familiar, dusty, well-trodden backwoods path that pits townies against country folk, they elicit some fantastic performances from their cast and create a constant sense of impending doom.

Patriarch Harold (Bruce Davison, X-Men) is the sort of fire and brimstone zealot that we’ve seen in movies like Deadly Blessing and Carrie. They profess to be protecting their children from an Old Testament God, while causing more psychological harm along the way. Having just tested whether his wife and daughters would drink poison if so commanded – they did – the dysfunctional family are visited by three jocks whose road trip is interrupted by a flat tyre.

The moment the boys enter the home you know that they won’t be continuing on their way any time soon. Outwardly, Harold is the perfect host, but he has no intention of letting his guests go. Like the mutants in The Hills Have Eyes and Wrong Turn series, visitors pay the price for straying from the path and daring to leave their concrete jungles. Maggie (Holly Taylor, The Americans) and sister Sarah (Rita Volk) are completely subservient to their sadistic father, but as the boys start poking around where they shouldn’t, a fuller picture comes to light.

Verdict: A steady sense of dread builds up from the opening scene and grips you right to the end. The over-familiar plot may be the single weakness here, but if you instead focus on the performances you’ll find plenty to unnerve you. 8/10

Nick Joy