Undertow

In the woods of rural Georgia, a father and his two sons find their lives disrupted by the arrival of Uncle Deel (Josh Lucas) and the events that follow force troubled son Chris (Jamie Bell) to grow up fast.

Undertow is a rough and ready thriller unusual in that it feeds off the underbelly of rural working-class America. It’s a chase movie so it has admirable tension and a grip that seizes you from the moment in the first scenes when a character on the run, falls and lands on the spike of a pitchfork running his foot through it – you wouldn’t find that in a tasteful Hollywood movie.

Undertow has interesting characters, a story told with a great deal of realism and a director not afraid to show the underbelly of society and people that you don't often see in a film. You felt for the two boys and it had an admirable tension as they tried to keep out of their uncle's clutches. It slightly loses its way in the final third but its good and punchy for the first two reels and they may just carry you through with a feeling that you’re watching an authentic thriller with real substance.

Matt Arnoldi