Gripping, until it lets go of itself

With a pedigree that includes Bmovie thrills like Piranha 3D and Crawl, director Alexandre Aja tries his hand at something more atmospheric and slow-burning here. The result? It is a film-that is beautifully packaged but ultimately weighed down by its pretensions.

- Troy Ribeiro

Starring the accomplished, Oscar-winning Halle Berry as a mother desperately trying to protect her sons Nolan and Samuel (Percy Daggs IV and Anthony B. Jenkins) from an unseen evil, the film lays its foundation on time-worn horror tropes. Berry, in full 'gritty survivalist' mode, delivers a performance that sways between harrowing and unhinged, playing a woman haunted by the ghost of intergenerational trauma. The problem, however, is that the audience, much like her character's sons, is left wondering whether the real threat lies outside in the spooky woods—or within her increasingly paranoid mind. Aja aims for a highbrow approach, layering the film with metaphor and ambiguous terror. The setup is undeniably eerie—a secluded cabin, a family bound by fear, and an evil force that may or may not exist.