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A deadly virus has decimated humankind, but fortunately Nena (Jacqueline Fleming) has grabbed her daughter Sol (Bianca A. Santos) back when and they've moved into a cabin in the woods and fortified the area so the infected cannot come in. Mostly Nena and Sol live on what they can hunt or grow, but every now and again, Nena leaves the perimeter to scavenge for things they might need, but she always refuses to take her daughter, insisting she's not ready yet. By now of course Sol has grown into an adult, and she's getting a bit restless, having seen nothing of the world and talked to nobody but her daughter for years upon years - and even her hormones start to rebel a bit. Then she finds a dead man, a sheriff (Tiago Santos) on the premises, shot dead by her mother as she later admits, because he was one of the infected - however, this makes Sol a tad suspicious because he hasn't shown any signs of the disease her mother has taught her about. When another man, Marcus (Oliver Rayon), stumbles onto the premises the very next day, Sol manages to dissuade Nena to kill him in cold blood - and in return Marcus promises to leave the very next day, just looking for a day to camp for the night. But the next day, Sol injures Marcus so he can't leave, as she has begun showing earnest interest in Marcus and she also wants to learn more about the world outside the perimeter. But what she learns from Marcus in many ways totally contradicts what her mum has told her, and eventually she also finds out something earth-shattering about Nena, so bad actually that she wants to leave their stronghold to face the world outside ...

Ok, the first act of this movie might be a bit on the slowburn side, but at the same time it lays out a fascinating premise, and it makes the way of life of the two women really palpable. It's with the second act though that the film starts to twist and turn, presenting the audience with surprise after surprise while telling a story that's at the same time compelling and utterly creepy, to result in a nerve-wrecking finale, crowned with a freaky punchline. And thanks to a very assured directorial effort that makes perfect use of its locations, and very strong, grounded performances, this has turned into a pretty cool genre movie.

review © by Mike Haberfelner

 

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