Trim Season

If you're looking for a mindless gorefest with underdeveloped stock characters, move on. This is a smart little horror treat with a good assortment of characters, interesting casting and a well-crafted supernatural story. The expansive setting and beautiful cinematography keep this limited location production from ever feeling claustrophobic.

Bethlehem Million does a great job anchoring a likeable offbeast cast as a girl whose life is imploding. Out of work and a home, she and her besti friend Julia take a risky job trimming weed at a remote pot farm in the mountains of northern California.

We know from the opening teaser that something deadly and supernatural awaits them, something more powerful and unique than the hack-and-slash violence you'd typically find in this kind of movie.

The acting and direction are excellent. There's one non-binary character thrown in to satisfy the woke generation, but their acting chops are a plus, giving new meaning to the term "scream queen."

The music is angelically eerie, befitting a movie driven by sorcery and sympathetic magic. There are several gory effects and brutal violence, all in the context of the story and just gratuitous enough to please most genuine horror fans.

While I personally feel this is exactly what low budget horror should be, I've deducted one star for the muddled flashbacks, which make up about one percent of the movie. While they don't detract from the story, they don't add as much as they could.

If you're up for a unique little horror thriller that delivers a solid story with good production values, give it a shot.