Still mourning the unexplained suicide of her twin sister six months before, Megan is persuaded by her father to join her friends as normal for their annual holiday at her family's retreat deep in the swamps of Louisiana. From the moment they arrive Megan is plagued by supernatural occurrences, including a regular sighting of a half-glimpsed dark shape, and the movement of a keyring. Megan becomes convinced that her dead sister is attempting to contact her from beyond the grave, but her friends believe she is still suffering deep psychological problems stemming from her loss. However, a young local man explains to her that this is the time of the Solstice, when the boundary between the realms of the living and the dead is at its thinnest. But is her sister really trying to reach her, and can the local man be trusted...?

This is one of those films which pleasantly surprises you by refusing to follow the expected path. It would give too much away to explain just what it does differently, thereby defeating the object of the piece. However, the reveal at the conclusion makes you realise that there are no wasted scenes, and every one of them progresses the story. In other words, they all say something - some retrospectively. There are a couple of stereotypical horror film characters I suppose, but at least an attempt is made to do something a little different with them.

This is the first feature film from Daniel Myrick since the massively hyped and vastly overrated The Blair Witch Project. In my opinion, this is a much greater achievement, as Solstice shocks and surprises the viewer rather than cheating him or her. Extras amount to an Audio Commentary by Daniel Myrick.

7

Ty Power