A brother and sister are traveling home for spring break across the middle-of-nowhere, America. They witness a terrifying-looking humanoid creature tossing what looks like a body down a chute at an old abandoned church. Intent on helping the supposed person, they sneak into the church, only to find a horrifying scene. They attempt to escape and get help, but it's too late - the creature is on to their scent and tracking them...
This is an excellent horror film! Despite being a low-budget flick, the cinematography is superb. If you pay attention, you see the horrifying things in the background long before they're upon the protagonists. And the creature is exactly the kind of horror that terrifies me - an ancient near-indestructible thing with an unknown origin. Too many films attempt to explain the horror, which takes the mystery and intrigue out of it. Once you understand it, it's no longer scary. But have you ever lay awake in bed, terrified of what scary things might be hiding in your room at night? The fear of the unknown is a strong emotion, and this film uses the unknown to really draw out that emotion in you.
The first time I saw this film was a few years after its release, at the request of my sister. She claimed that the brother and sister protagonists reminded her of the two of us (we even looked kind of similar to them). That connection made this movie even more terrifying for her, as she imagined what it would be like if we were subjected to the same horror together.
Despite its low budget, this film was so popular, it ended up spawning two sequels. I have only seen the first sequel, which adds a little more intrigue to the story - again, without explaining away the whole origin. I'm curious to see what the third film is about, though. It just released last year.
If you enjoy fear-inducing horror without resorting to constant jump scares, this movie is a good choice!
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