Pyewacket

With its deceptively simple premise, teasing build-up, deft narrative surprise and creepy finale, writer/director Adam MacDonald's slow-burner is an indie horror gem, proving once more that imagination, modest genre know-how and solid craft are all you need to deliver the dread-inducing goods. Forced to move away from school friends after her father dies, troubled Leah (an impressive Nicole Muñoz) performs a blood incantation calling on an evil woodland entity to punish her grieving mother (The Walking Dead's Laurie Holden in a winning contemplative turn). Though immediately regretful, Leah fails to reverse the ritual curse and soon an unholy presence is stalking their rural home. Maintaining an uneasy tension via credible teen angst before going into an examination of ancient evil rather than relying on the standard supernatural jolts, MacDonald's menacing morality tale explores the dangers of casual occult belief with flair and confidence.