A fatal car crash kills Ali, one of four teen friends. At Ali’s funeral, Tilly (Anna Bullard) is rebuffed Ali’s family, and seeks to get away from it all, supported by other survivors Monica (Annie Hamilton) and Peter (Rory Alexander). They go to Monica’s grandparent’s country estate for a weekend of shared grief and attempts to move on and maybe even have some fun.

The scenery is beautiful and forested, and the three friends settle into the house in the woods for a relaxing weekend. Tension is their constant companion, however. Tilly is the one the family blames, and feels the weight of guilt as well as mourning, while Monica is urging her to get over it and move on. Peter mostly just makes jokes and drinks, which somehow increases tension rather than relieve it.

And since you know what genre we’re talking about, obviously something, well, dark is going to happen. You see, someone else is out there in the middle of nowhere with them. Creeping around, making noise, initiating unconvincing jumpscares via musical sting. The second half becomes a slasher/home invasion film. From there, things go generally according to formula, with more truths about Ali’s death being uncovered on the way.

The title, for the record, seems entirely irrelevant.

So what are the movie’s strengths? Top of my list is cinematography. Jens Ramborg does an excellent job with color and composition to make this wilderness beautiful and threatening, and the characters within it framed artistically and sympathetically.

The acting is sufficient to the task, and none of the three exactly stands out in any particular way. The story is basic, the surprises are not really a part of what this movie is there for. It’s … fine.

The exploration of the “right” way to mourn is a good conversation to address, but only about 30 seconds is spent on it. The rest is … fine. Not a waste of my time to watch, but nothing specific that I would recommend about it, either.

But remember, this is coming from the point of view of someone glutted on the genre. If you’re not already spoiled by genre-savviness, it actually holds up much better. The foreshadowing is ominous rather than obvious, and there are still some surprises to be had.

I guess a lot depends on how jaded you are. Fresh viewers will find a lot to talk about here. Old, worn-out horror buffs will mostly write it off as … fine.

The review depends on the viewer on this one. I’m giving it a seven as the average of the two possible viewpoints.

Though the cinematography really is excellent, and lovers of the art might find more to enjoy here than would the average horror viewer.

7 out of 10 Spooky Candles