I've been in a low-budget horror rut lately--just lots of films with half an idea, poor lighting, and "edgy" twist endings. This film really surprised and impressed me.
A young woman loses her family to a murderous group of scavenging soldiers who are lost, freezing, and starving in the woods. Coming across the dead, hanged body of one of the soldiers (he was killed by the others when he didn't agree to slaughter the girl's family), her prayers and hatred combine into something supernatural and resurrect the dead soldier. Seeking revenge, they track down the rest of the soldiers.
I just really enjoyed watching this film. The scenery was very beautiful and ominous with several gorgeous shots of looming trees and water flowing under ice. The acting is pretty good--it's a mixed bag, as with any low-budget film, but the central actors play their parts well and no one is bad. I think that the strength of this film is that it is full of interesting shots, like someone splitting a log of wood to reveal someone standing in the spot that the log was blocking from the camera, or a scene where the protagonist is reaching to get a pair of guns off of the top of a tall shelf and it evokes a child trying to reach a tabletop. There was a lot of care put into shooting this film, and that really endeared it to me. It's also refreshing to see a revenge story starring a female character that isn't just some variation on rape-revenge, and also one that is interested in the dynamics of the group of bad guys, how they influence each other, and the difference between committing bad deeds and allowing bad deeds to be committed by others.
I only had two real criticisms of the film. The first is that most of the dialogue is voice-over by the lead actress. She does a pretty good job with it, but the writing starts to feel like a mish-mash of Victorian-sh language (think Deadwood) and vaguely biblical musings. Sometimes it crossed the line from ominous to nonsensical. I also had mixed feelings about the score, which is mostly distorted tones. It's effective when it's low and in the background, but it does that thing sometimes where they crank it up to a scream at certain intense parts and the electrical sounds of it distracts from what is happening on screen.
I was impressed with this film and I'd encourage you to check it out. Low-budget films are capable of much more than pandering T&A and cringy dialogue, and this is a good example of that. I'd rank it next to the 2006 film Salvage as one of the best low-budget horrors I've seen.
