You know those horror movies where you’re just rooting for the hero and know that bad things will happen but in the end it will be okay? This ain’t that. What Josiah Saw is brutal Southern Gothic, solidly directed by Vincent Grashaw from Robert Alan Dilts’ unrelenting screenplay in which what Josiah saw is not necessarily what actually happened. Told in three parts, Tarantino-style, with each chapter focused on a different child of the Graham family, the film is framed by a development group wants to buy property, especially the Graham property on Willow Road.

Mr. Gentry (Ben Hall) narrates the tale of Miriam “Mim” Graham, dead wife of Josiah Graham (Robert Patrick), who hung herself on the family farm, shattering the lives of her then-young children. Josiah is a mean drunk and the king of the castle, all Biblical fury and hellfire but also indulgent of his own vices. The film then shows the lives of the now-adult children: Thomas (Scott Haze) – charming in his backwood innocence (at least initially), still living at home with the eponymous patriarch, Mary Milner (Kelli Garner), the daughter whose life is in shambles, and oldest son Eli (Nick Stahl), who did time for sleeping with a sixteen-year-old that he thought was eighteen. He owes money to Boone (Jake Weber), who drags him into a sinister scheme to steal gold from a local carnival run by the Romany.

All three children are deeply broken, prone to anger, and find themselves in untenable situations. Eli and Mary are finally drawn back to the family farm for a confrontation over what really happened all those years ago when mom killed herself. No spoilers, but the film brutalizes the audience (in the best possible way) as much as it does the characters. As secrets are revealed and we see how the children live now, and are at last confronted with the reality of their choices, the audience is brought to very dark places. The film hints at the supernatural behind some of the problems. I’ll say no more, but the twists and turns in the last quarter of the film are an emotional roller coaster indeed. The most disturbing scene (no spoilers) is not supernatural, but of Josiah shaming Thomas over the adult magazines he finds under his bed.

What Josiah Saw is a brilliant, disturbing look at generational trauma, anchored in virtuoso performances from its four leads. Patrick delivers as he so often has (an underrated performer who perhaps peaked too soon because of Terminator 2 – he really is better than he often gets credit for), and the nervous, dangerous energy of Haze and Stahl keep the film dancing on the edge of the nerves. What Josiah Saw is overlong and could perhaps use a more judicious edit, but delivers on what was promised. You’ll need to watch an animated family film after to rid yourself of the residue left by the Graham family. That is intended as a compliment.

8 out of 10