Director Jonathan Liebsman has done an excellent job of creating an atmosphere of suspense and dread, punctuated by moments of sheer terror and dark humor.
      Jordanna Brewster (The Faculty) is quite good in the role of the determined survivor-rescuer, one of four friends who manages to escape the immediate capture by the psychotic "Sheriff Hoyt." The gore is intense, and there are moments from this film that will be impossible to forget.
      For fans of the splatter-horror genre, TCM: The Beginning is a must-see.