Werewolf

In this absorbing siege thriller from Polish director Adrian Panek, surviving Nazi brutality is not the end of the ordeal for traumatised orphans liberated from a concentration camp at the end of the war. Eight children who've managed to escape Nazi death squads are deposited in an abandoned mansion in the middle of a huge forest. With the youngest reduced to an almost feral state and with little food and water, it's up to eldest girl Hanka (a poised Sonia Mietielica) to take on the mantle of "mother" while teenage boys - brooding Hanys and bespectacled Wladek - vie for her attention. However, a savage remnant of their wartime incarceration makes a shock appearance, turning a bucolic retreat into a prison with the only water available being rainfall and condensation. Deadly beasts certainly lurk outside, but there's an echo of Lord of the Flies allegory here when simmering primal emotions erupt among the captive kids. Deftly acted by the young cast and stunningly shot, Panek's sophomore feature is an enthralling reflection on human nature, but with nail-biting jeopardy never too far away.