Knuckleball | What to Watch

(Image credit: Chris Large chrislarge@mac.com)

While his parents attend a funeral, 12-year-old Luca Villacis is left in the care of grandfather Michael Ironside

While his parents attend a funeral, 12-year-old Luca Villacis is left in the care of grandfather Michael Ironside.

His mother’s gruff, widowed father, Ironside lives in an isolated farmhouse with no phone and few amenities. Staying in such a place would be a grim enough prospect for a young boy, but a winter storm is on its way and a dark family secret is about to be unearthed...

This slow-burning Canadian thriller carefully creates an ominous mood in its first half and then turns on the suspense and thrills in the second.

While Villacis' smart and plucky hero requires a suspension disbelief, the film's escalating terror soon overrides any niggles about the plot.