Badlands of Kain is a new horror thriller by Andy Palmer and Rachelle DiMaria that is part Twilight Zone, part Hitchcock, and a creepily original thriller that will have you guessing the whole way.

As a filmmaker Andy Palmer is having fun. You can just tell that from watching his films.  His last pic, The Funhouse Massacre, was a madcap slaughterfest that paid respects to influential horror movies while blazing it’s own twisted trail.  Palmer returns with the subdued yet twisted, Badlands Of Kain.

The film begins as Shannon (Rachelle DiMaria) and Kris(Katrina Norman) set off to rekindle their friendship, by deciding to take an epic cross country road trip together for the summer. Their small, powder-blue Volkswagen Bug packed, the girls head eastward from Los Angeles with nothing but the ominous open road ahead of them. What could possibly go wrong by taking a cross country trip in an antique car? Nothing, really, if the movie stars Patrick Swayze in a dress. But this is not that movie and we are in for quite a ride.

Just outside Flagstaff, AZ, the girls have car trouble.  car mysteriously breaks down. Star and screenwriter, Rachelle DiMaria, very shrewdly has the pair reach for their cell phones and call a tow truck. A move that few screenwriters seem to remember is now the norm.

Soon enough the tow truck driver arrives. His name is Terry (Paul Soter), and incidentally, he is also the town preacher in a small town nearby.  He picks the girls up and brings them to Kain to stay for the night while their car is being repaired. As the traveling pair settle into the dusty burg, they soon realize that all is not right with this town and its inhabitants. As the pair struggle to salvage their bestie status with each other, they become increasingly aware that they must leave Kain, even if they have to walk out.

The story is presented, for the most part, through the point of view of the two visitors to the town. We are only allowed to piece things together as best as we can.  This makes the mystery surrounding this rundown borough all the more interesting. Writer Rachelle DiMaria has crafted a nicely developed script that avoids common clichés.

Director, Palmer knows how handle the psychological suspense, leaving the tension on simmer until things reach a boiling point. The time that is taken to allow for the slow pacing makes the moments of suspense really work. Chad Lehmann’s original score is also something of note here, lending a textured background of breathy flutes and lush strings.

Badlands of Kain is one of the strongest horror entries of 2016. The film is an atypical horror movie that avoids the common tropes of the sleepy-town horror flick, playing against the audiences expectation and delivering. Dusty and atmospheric, Kain also revels in the psychological thrillers that came before it by fully embracing its cinematic heritage. Hitchcock would approve.