A lo-fi gem from Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead (they star and co-direct, and Benson writes) about brothers Justin and Aaron, damaged escapees from a San Diego back country cult/commune, caught in a toxic dynamic. Justin is the controlling, protective older brother who saved them, while frustrated younger brother Aaron isn't sure they needed saving. The story sends them on a visit to the world they left behind, thanks to a VHS tape that seems to warn of the group's mass departure. (The only thing more mysterious than its arrival is exactly who's doing the recording, and why. It might just have something to do with the thing — God or monster — in the night sky that wants to play tug-of-war.) Younger brother Aaron sees only the good in the community he never quite wanted to leave: wholesome food, good beer, loving people. Naturally, Justin the skeptic has a harder time of it, even as he witnesses things he can’t explain and watches his brother come to life. Faith does tend to seem loopy, and even dangerous, to the faithless. But skepticism has its virtues: it makes you wary, so that you notice things like a locked shack, or a crying woman sitting by herself. Yes, some loops are less obviously toxic than the one you’re stuck in with your brother, but they may involve dangers of their own. A sweetly creepy good time that uses smart writing, restrained performance, and and excellent location to create a mood of deepening dread amid the obvious positives. (2018) — Matthew Lickona
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