This Overlooked, Frighteningly Realistic Horror Movie Will Devastate You in Ways Others in the Genre Don't

A skilled filmmaker can achieve an awful lot with a modest budget, and Canadian director Adam MacDonald (2014's Backcountry) fashions every resource he has at his disposal to render his 2017 horror Pyewacket a frighteningly effective genre offering that interlocks the supernatural and trauma's toll. As grimly elegiac as it is deeply nerve-jangling, MacDonald's sophomore feature film zeroes in on the emotional turmoil begat by a family death, exploring the shattering aftereffects of bereavement. At its core, Pyewacket's narrative orbits a fraught mother-daughter relationship and a botched revenge plan, which ultimately serves as the backboard for the ensuing scares that come, sometimes running on all fours, at the viewer via a hectic finale.