14A - Advisories: Violence, Frightening Scenes, & Mature Subject Matter.

Director Jon Knautz returns with the polar opposite of his 2007 cult hit, the comic monster mash JACK BROOKS: MONSTER SLAYER. THE SHRINE is a dark, atmospheric supernatural thriller with tons of suspense and an entirely different type of monster.

After an American backpacker goes missing in an obscure Polish village, a journalist begins to do some digging around. She discovers that several backpackers have disappeared from the same spot and that the cases remain unsolved. The journalist, bored with her everyday assignments and determined to raise her status at work, drags her boyfriend and her intern on an investigation of their own.

What they soon discover is a very unwelcoming group of villagers and clues that the boy may still be there, dead or alive. The village has a cloud of smoke hovering over the forest, a creepy little girl and signs of ritualistic human sacrifice. THE SHRINE is a smart, chilling shocker from second-time director Knautz—definitely a filmmaker to keep your eye on.

BL