Hidden (2015)

Dir: The Duffer Brothers (Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer)

301 days.

That's the number of days a family of three has spent living in a bunker, not daring to go up top, after a devastating event occurred. The father Ray (Alexander Skarsgard STRAW DOGS remake), the mother Claire (Andrea Riseborough OBLIVION) and their young daughter Zoe (Emily Alyn Lind THE HAUNTING IN CONNECTICUT 2) live day to day in the darkness with the parents clutching to as much of their lives prior to seeking shelter in the bunker as possible. While scared of the creatures called breathers who prowl the devastated world above ground, Zoe longs for friends her age and to eat something other than cold mushy beans.

The Duffer Brothers, writers and directors of the film, dole out just enough information as the film unspools to maintain viewer curiosity and tension throughout the run time. There's a twist at the end that I didn't expect until just before the reveal and looking back the twist makes sense. The twist is effective but at its heart the film is about the family dynamic. Unlike the zombie family drama MAGGIE (2013) which also uses a cataclysmic event as a background to parent / child and parent / parent drama, HIDDEN's characters are interesting and I wanted to see what came next. The acting all around is well done and I believed Skarsgard, Riseborough and Lind as their characters.

HIDDEN is talky, in a good way, there is little in the way of action or gore but this is an example of why the horror genre can be so good and diverse when in the right hands.

*** out of ****