The Cull

There’s a cabin in the woods in JP Davidson’s sinister thriller The Cull, but it’s not quite what you might be expecting. This is England, and there simply aren’t any vast forests to get lost in. Every bit of attractive rural real estate is jealously guarded. When Niall (Craig Russell) gets out of prison and moves into the cabin he has inherited, his problem is not isolation with spooky things happening after sundown. It’s the constant presence of unwelcoming locals. As Sartre said, Hell is other people.

What England does have is a few remaining patches on ancient woodland, places that once were home to ancient forms of worship. There are hidden things in these woods, says local guy Donny (Ollie Mcfarlane) – stone circles nobody notices because they’re so overgrown. Today, people hold music festivals there, and perhaps do something more. None of this is good news for Niall, who just wants a quiet place where he can be sober, read the Bible and try to become a better person. But there’s another side to him, too. He has, he says, spent 16 years locked up for something he didn’t do, and “Someone’s going to have to answer for that.”

Davidson establishes the texture of his film through layering. Layered occult manuscripts, sometimes burning, are glimpsed between scenes. Shifting depth of field emphasises the natural layering of the forest, where danger could be just a few metres away and still out of sight. Seen from different angles, it takes on different textures; at one point there’s a lovely transition which sees it blur into carpet, as if something of the nature of the forest has invaded the cabin itself. This layering also extends to the sound design, creating a disorientating effect which corresponds well to what prisoners often say about getting released after a long time inside. The world feels constantly crowded, overwhelming, dangerous enough even if one has no other problems to deal with.

Niall, of course, does. The ownership of the cabin is disputed. A group of people who were living there before him claim that it’s rightfully theirs, and don’t seem inclined to give up just because the law is on his side. This creates an immediate sense of threat which builds over time – but what you might begin to ask yourself is whether or not we’re on the right side. They too feel threatened. Their claim is not altogether unreasonable. Donny explains that there is grinding poverty in the area, and people are simply trying to get by as best they can. Niall shows no sympathy for anyone. His focus is entirely on how unfair life has been to him. This may make it difficult to form an emotional connection to the film, but it’s intentional, and the result is a more complex moral exploration.

Premièred at Frightfest, The Cull is well suited to an experienced horror audience ready to engage with these ambiguities. Mainstream audiences may find it difficult to get into. There are elements of mystery relating to the history of the cabin and a possible pre-existing connection between Niall and Donny. Much of Niall’s past before his incarceration, has been lost to a haze of drink and drugs. He is a rootless character in a place where roots are everything, clinging to the cabin as his only anchor, but that may not be enough.

Reviewed on: 31 Oct 2026