The story follows Ann, a woman surviving in the woods following the outbreak of a mysterious blood-borne pandemic that turns victims into feral cannibals. Ann survives by keeping her head down and masking her scent with a pungent mixture of mud and rotten food to evade the infected. She has quickly learned how to utilise the resources of the woods, abandoned houses and nearby water, following the instructions left by her husband before he died. As the story unfolds, we learn the fate of her husband, Jason, and baby daughter, Clara, via a series of flashbacks.
While minding her own business, she happens upon an injured man, Chris, and his step-daughter, Olivia, on an open road. After ensuring they are not infected, she brings them back to her camp - centred around her old family car, which we learn still has half a tank of fuel.
Initially, Ann is wary, suspecting they might take advantage of her - especially as Chris regains his health and begins questioning her about the car. However, a bond eventually forms between the two adults, sparking a jealousy in Olivia that comes to a head after Ann and Chris spend a night together. Chris attempts to convince Ann to travel with them, but they first need to secure food. They organise a raid on a local house, with the women grabbing supplies while Chris distracts the infected.
The film then hurtles towards a chaotic finale where we discover who survives and what the future might hold. While there aren't many scenes depicting the cannibals, the few that appear are well-executed, made-up, frightening and often violent. The creatures move in a long-established fashion - flailing arms and a staggering gait - but the portrayal never feels comic.
Ultimately, the film is less about monster-slaying action and more about the gruelling, repetitive reality of survival. This is depicted through long sequences where very little happens, capturing rather the experience of whiling away long nights in silence. It is a slow-burn, bleak and moving character study of three people pushed to their limits.
The actors deliver decent-enough performances, particularly Lucy Walters in the lead, who appears in almost every scene. She doesn't utter a word for the first third of the film - we simply tag along in her silence as she survives. The natural landscape provides a ready-made backdrop for the cinematography, with a focus on greys, greens and browns that evoke a sense of rot and stagnation. Replacing potential cheap jump-scares for atmospheric dread, the film places its emphasis on Ann’s haunting past. A subtle, impressive film that is now widely available on streaming.
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