Australian director Ben Young’s savagely intense and frightening tale of the dark forces that lurk behind the sunny façade of an unassuming Australian suburb, might just be the scariest movie you’ll see this year.

In Perth, 1987 the city is completely unaware that women are disappearing at the hands of sadistic, serial killer couple John and Evelyn White. Seventeen-year-old Vicki Maloney is stuck inside an unhappy home with parents on the verge of divorce. Feeling rebellious, she sneaks out of the house only to be abducted by John and Evelyn, who lure her with marijuana before tying her up to a bed inside their squalid home as their own personal torture subject. Finding herself in chains and forced into a dark world of violence and domination, with her murder seemingly imminent, Vicki realises she must find a way to drive a wedge between Evelyn and John if she’s any hope of surviving.

This remarkably assured debut feature expertly escalates tension and crafts a chilling atmosphere through mesmerizing cinematography and a haunting 80s soundtrack. For horror aficionados it is utterly unmissable. For others, its sheer intensity and enthralling combination of perversity and vulnerability might just make it too much to watch. Be warned, this one is not for the weak of stomach or the faint of heart.

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