Thoroughbreds

Rare is the teen movie that works on its own terms while, at the same time, channelling a sophisticated adult classic. But like Cruel Intentions before it, which offered a juicy homage to Dangerous Liaisons in the confines of a chic New York prep school, Cory Finley's supremely assured debut taps into the dark heart of Henri-Georges Clouzot's 1955 horror thriller classic Les Diaboliques. The setting here is suburban Connecticut, where the troubled Amanda (Olivia Cooke) has been sent to study with an old schoolmate, the rich and spoiled Lily (Anya Taylor-Joy). Amanda comes with baggage after the brutal killing of her horse - but Lily harbours grim secrets, too, such as a desire to see her vulgar, nouveau riche stepfather dead. A pact is made, but which girl is willing to go the furthest? It's a moral conundrum that Finley's sharp script pushes to a deliciously amoral conclusion, ably abetted by his two impeccable femmes fatales and, in his final screen role, Anton Yelchin as their dim-witted stooge.