Forests will be scary. Love will be even scarier. Combine the 2 and throw in a couple of wild twists for good measure, and also you get Significant Other, a uniquely terrifying thriller a couple of couple whose romantic hike within the woods takes an sudden flip once they start to suspect they may not be alone within the wilds.

Written and directed by Dan Berk and Robert Olsen, Significant Other casts Maika Monroe (It Follows) and Jake Lacy (The White Lotus) as Ruth and Harry, respectively, a younger couple who head off into the forests of the Pacific Northwest for some climbing and tenting. Harry intends to suggest to Ruth, however the pair’s journey takes a lethal flip once they uncover one thing sinister within the woods.

Relatively talking, Significant Other is a small movie by Hollywood requirements, centered nearly fully on its two leads with a narrative that originally feels pretty easy and acquainted. Romantic companions annoyed by their respective insecurities, compelled to beat their baggage with the intention to survive an sudden risk? Nothing new to see there.

And but, Significant Other manages to ship an expertise that’s fairly a bit larger and extra sophisticated than that, due to its uniquely attractive setting, some intelligent narrative twists, and wonderful performances by its two leads.

Significant Other is at its finest when it’s maintaining you guessing, and far of the movie unfolds in a tension-feeding uncertainty concerning the nature of the risk posed to Ruth and Harry. Monroe specifically walks a tremendous line all through a lot of the movie’s first two acts, pushing issues ahead whereas by no means giving an excessive amount of away, even because the motion picks up and the items begin falling into place round her. She delivered a standout efficiency because the lead in one of many finest horror movies of the final decade, It Follows, and Significant Other presents a reminder of how a lot she brings to quieter, extra refined horror movies like this one.

Lacy additionally delivers a tremendous efficiency as Ruth’s outdoorsy, totally enamored boyfriend, however has no bother in any way shifting his efficiency into a distinct gear when issues begin getting bizarre within the forest.

To that finish, Berk and Olsen do a superb job of pacing the movie’s large revelations and doling out simply sufficient info to maintain issues compelling all through. Monroe and Lacy are excellent at sustaining the anomaly of their predicament always, however when the curtain is lastly pulled away, the filmmaking duo delivers on the movie’s large secrets and techniques in a rewarding, cleverly orchestrated third act.

Given the movie’s small solid and relationship-driven drama, the story in Significant Other may have simply been introduced as a narrowly centered thriller, however the forest setting of the movie provides one other, fascinating dimension to Ruth and Harry’s expertise. They’re alone in a few of the most lovely, untouched woods in North America, which will be each terrifyingly claustrophobic or breathtakingly scenic, relying in your perspective. Significant Other makes nice use of the dichotomy in its setting to swing the tone from one in every of gloriously releasing, wide-open spectacle to oppressive, paralyzing terror across the characters because the story calls for.

A satisfying, environment friendly thriller with loads of surprises in retailer for audiences, Significant Other is simply the form of quietly terrifying movie which may not get the type of consideration (or promotion) bigger-budget productions obtain, however is prone to generate loads of word-of-mouth buzz as audiences uncover it in a method or one other. Monroe and Lacy carry the movie — and its narrative twists — nicely, whereas Berk and Olsen thread the needle expertly in relation to balancing what’s identified, what isn’t, and the regular drip that transforms the latter into the previous. Significant Other rewards affected person audiences and the payoff is well worth the wait.

Directed by Dan Berk and Robert Olsen, Significant Other premieres October 7 on Paramount+ streaming service.

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