“Shooting in a muted color palette and minimalistic style with long stretches of silence, the filmmaker exerts a powerful control over his gloomy material (with help from cinematographer Eli Born and editor Ed Yonaitis). While there are occasional doses of thematic self-indulgence, such as an early scene in which a priest (Scott Haze) delivers a lesson to his young students about Cain and Abel that’s clearly meant as foreshadowing, they don’t detract from the overall dramatic effect.”

Read the full review here.