A sniper duo sent to the edge of a war zone to kill the head of a dangerous organization end up wandering the woods followed by something, before killing the incorrect target from bad intel and needing to stick around until they can eliminate the correct target. Something is definitely following them and getting closer.
Written and directed by Billy Hanson, the film takes a story that is seemingly a military one at first and turns it into an effective supernatural tale with layers of political message and human plight. The film creates a world where the two leads are isolated yet in contact with their home base by radio, which somehow makes it lonelier for the pair and the public. The film establishes the cold as being a part of the story as almost an extra character and it brings in the mental anguish of their training, work, and emotional load. The characters are built in a very human manner, giving them a connection to the audience. The way the story escalates works well in helping build suspense and tension for the audience. The use of the supernatural here is a metaphor for something much more sinister, something that sneaks in and menaces to spread much wider than just the two of them.
The leads here and played by Jonathan Stoddard and Matt Munroe who both do fantastic with their parts. They bring humanity and humor to the hard situation; they bring layers to their characters with Stoddard giving the stronger of the two performances. Granted, his character is the lead and has more background to work with, but he really makes the most of it and of his time on screen. The last third of the film is where he really brings it home and shines, giving the character the right reactions, emotions, and level of stress that the situation calls for. Of course, other members of the cast are great as well, especially Jennifer Khoe, Trinity Jo-Li Bliss, and Elise Greene. The strength of the cast here is solid, and their work gives the script life in just the right way.
As the supernatural is involved here, the special effects must be mentioned. The design of the entity works well, and, well, it works best when it is partially in shadows or blurred. There is a good quality to the CGI here, but some of it could have used a bit more time and budget, which is something that was most likely limited here. Nonetheless, the entity is creepy and effective, especially once the viewer understands what they stand for, what they represent. This entity is much more than a spirit in the woods or something there just for a jump scare or two, it is the metaphor here and it’s better left unexplained so that each viewer can come to terms with what it is in their own time.
The WellGoUSA release of the film on Blu Ray disc includes a making of which is pretty standard for any film extra, a trailer, and a blooper reel something we do not see nearly enough of these days, so kudos for including it.