You can't help but appreciate the quietly demented tranquility found within writer/director Joey Monahan's 22-minute horror short The Cabin, a film that starts off looking and feeling a lot like Grizzly Adams before spiraling into something, well, a little more grisly. 

Mark La Pointe impresses as a reclusive backwoodsman seemingly living an idyllic life despite the passing of his beloved hunting dog, Duke, and a secluded life that jar an awful lot of human beings. He seems to love it, a quiet resilience and light humor breaking through his stoic presence and we can't help but be drawn to him. 

Of course, the fact that this little indie is a horror short is right upfront so we know nothing is quite as it seems. The film feels like a docudrama, David LeRoss's lensing lulling us into comfort and never quite letting go of an almost absurd sense of normalcy. 

To give away much more would be unforgivable in this film that never quite goes where we expect and yet satisfies throughout its slow-burn and well-paced running time. La Pointe feels like a cinematic cousin to J.K. Simmons, a fellow who simultaneously seems incredibly normal, even likable, and yet also a guy who has a sort of gleam in his eyes. 

Destined to appeal to those with a taste for slow-burners, The Cabin is worth a view if you get a chance to check it out. 

Written by Richard Propes
The Independent Critic