Director: Donna McRae
Year: 2019
Country: United Kingdom
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Ghosts
Plot:
Heading out into the wilderness, a battered woman retreats to a remote cabin in the woods under the instruction of a friend to escape the torment of her abusive ex, but the longer she stays there, the more convinced she gets that someone or something might be inside the cabin with her.
Review:
This one turned out to be a solid enough indie effort. Among the better features here is the engrossing and engaging setup that makes this quite fun to get going. Knowing little about the truth behind her being there at the cabin but given enough context and elves through her interactions with the caretaker or those who she runs into along the way that it spells out the truth about her purpose there which is a great way to build up our sympathy towards her. As a bonus, that also plays a part in the genuine tension and thrills that emerge the longer she’s there as it paints a potentially obvious explanation for what’s going on with her frazzled and vulnerable state being the cause of her to run wild with an untrustworthy imagination causing everything to happen.
That leads nicely into the film’s intriguing series of psychologically-driven haunting scenes. As this all plays with the idea of whether or not the building is actually haunted or if it’s just in her head, the constant influx of voices and whispers she hears around the cabin, whether it’s the voices calling out while she’s cleaning up, restocking items, and trying to hide out. The longer she’s there through contrivance by putting the hiding plan through it’s courses, the more these elements start playing with her desire to leave and the increase in supernatural activity which combine into a thrilling finale where the truth is finally revealed about the haunting in the cabin that features some chilling moments throughout here. Overall, these factors manage to hold this one up for the most part.
There are a few issues to be had with this one. One of the main drawbacks is the sluggish and lethargic pace that takes quite a while before anything ends up happening as the main drama on display comes at the expense of genre trills. Keeping her isolated at the cabin, where the majority of the interactions with others is limited to phone-call updates on the situation that sent her there and the uncertainty over it being real or in her had all meant that very little happens for a large part of the film that can make this seem somewhat boring. That also highlights the other issue here in its low-budget origins are often highlighted with the scaled-down production, lack of extravagant sets or effects, and a generally underwhelming scale here that some might find problematic, which all hold this down.
Overview: **.5/5
Far more fun than it should be but still somewhat let down by several big factors, this one ends up being solid and likable, yet hampered by those negative factors from being higher. Give this one a look if you’re a fan of this style or are curious about this one while most others out there turned off by these points should heed caution.
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