Couple in a Hole

Story is thin on the ground, but there's mystery and unease in spades.

It's surely a good thing that a film like this stretches the often predictable boundaries of cinema, and it marks Geens out as a director to watch. But I can't say that Couple in a Hole drew me into its world completely.

Evokes a gripping and stridently unconventional depiction of grief.

From the very moment you see a helpless rabbit being slapped against the side of a tree to ensure it's dead, you know exactly what's in store when settling down to indulge in Tom Geens' sophomore endeavour.

This strange film is a ruralist cross between British psychological realism and the wilder, Artaud-inflected fringes of French art cinema.

Even a weird curveball coda can't undo the good work done by the filmmaker and a very fine quartet of thespians.

Higgins and Dickie are superb as they combine to help create a haunting, downbeat film about two people who have been consumed by sorrow.

A peculiar and gripping study of parental grief.

A hole lot more interesting than it should be.

Despite an unconvincing finale the film stands as a memorable example of the devastating power of loss.