In 1989, six year old Martin Bristoll was kidnapped from his backyard swing in Minersville Pennsylvania. Graham Sutter, a psychotic recluse, kept Martin imprisoned on his derelict pig farm, forcing him to witness and participate in unspeakable horrors. Chosen at random, his victim's screams were drowned out by the rural countryside. For five years, Martin's whereabouts have remained a mystery, until 17 year old Allison Miller comes to live with her Uncle, Jonathan. While exploring her new surroundings, Allison discovers things aren't quite right at the farmhouse down the road. Her curiosity disturbs a hornet's nest of evil and despair that once torn open, can never be closed.
Acting
Michael Biehn brings weary gravitas to uncle duty.
Practical Effects
Gnarly old-school effects that CGI would sanitize.
Direction
Mena's patient buildup makes the violence land harder.
Director
Stevan Mena
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This is actually a prequel to Mena's 2004 film Malevolence, expanding the killer's origin.
Shot in Pennsylvania, the film deliberately evokes 1980s rural slasher aesthetics—grain, practical effects, and moral bleakness included.
US
