3 hours Ago By Don Morton
While on vacation in Italy, a conservative family (Scoot McNairy, Mackenzie Davis and Alix West Lefler) meet a markedly more outgoing family (James McAvoy, Aisling Francioci and Dan Hough) whose introverted young son is mute. Back in England, they receive an invitation to spend a week at their counterparts’ countryside estate. Perhaps sensing that their lives could use a little more incident, what the hell, they accept.
There is of course some awkwardness at first, rationalized simply by saying their hosts just have different social boundaries. But as the tension rachets up, boundaries are left behind, awkward turns to fear and then to terror. Saying more would constitute spoilers.
Suffice it to say that although this shrewd, nicely nasty little squirmer from James Watkins (Eden Lake, The Take) follows a time-tested format (there’s no mystery, really) an off-the-leash McAvoy, a uniformly strong supporting cast and some imaginative predicaments elevate the material to worth-a-look level for psycho-thriller fans. (110 min).
