If the 2020s have proved anything for contemporary English cinema, it’s that audiences are yearning for horror that creeps up in an unexpected way; films that reinvent, or even semi-cognizantly play off of, genre standards and expectations seem to be in a somewhat stagnant state of production. Damian McCarthy is no stranger to the horror scene; his consistent output of horror shorts and features over the better part of two decades has cemented him as somewhat of a household name among fans of the genre. Going into this new feature with Adam Scott and a ‘standardized on the surface’-esque mantra to the screenplay, McCarthy sets out to build upon the works of Stephen King. It would be slightly misleading to imply that McCarthy has created a horror film that is far removed from any pre-existing templates, but this doesn’t remove the impact of its narrative structure, or the homages it pays to the classic horror cinema that comes before it. Guaranteed to please genre veterans and rookie th...