{The Pact screens at The Grand Illusion Cinema on 7/20 & 7/21 at 11pm – tickets are $8 | $5 for members | $6 seniors & students}

While I think overall The Pact is a solid thriller, it’s also one of those movies that’s way better if you don’t know too much about it.

Sisters Nichole and Annie don’t exactly agree on how to handle their mother’s death—but when Nichole goes missing, Annie (Caity Lotz – who had a memorable role in Mad Men as Anna Draper’s niece, Stephanie) returns to their childhood home to find out what happened. After a few spooky encounters, a local detective (holycrap. that. is. Casper Van Dien.) starts looking for the truth. And that’s when shit gets all kinds of crazy.

Horror, mystery, murders, secrets, and mediums—it all gets mixed up with some very effective storytelling that unfolds in a quietly unsettling way. And that’s really what I enjoyed most about this film: it doesn’t over explain things, and a lot of the narrative is left up to visual clues, and the viewers interpretations of what’s happening on screen.

I meant to have this up last weekend when it opened at The Grand Illusion, but it’s playing again this Friday and Saturday as their late-night showing. Recommended for some good, atmospheric scares.