Most horror films weigh in at around 90 minutes, but first-timers Paul Thomas (screenwriter) and Chris Cronin (director) are in no hurry, using the additional running time to draw the audience into a tangled web of grief and guilt. Although set in 2021, the film bears the influence of British ghost stories and folk horror favourites like The Stone Tape (1972), Quatermass (1979) and The Woman in Black (1989).
Cronin also employs some effective Blair Witch-inspired techniques, including documentary-style interviews and POV filming to draw us further into the story. But the score, sound design and pitch-perfect performances β not least from Edward-Robinson, who gave up a tech career aged 50 to take up acting β ensure the filmβs considerable spell remains unbroken.
Itβs a bleak, brooding tale, steeped in folk mythology and infused with so much atmosphere you may feel the fog closing in around you in the cinema.