16-year-old John Cleaver has issues. Decidedly different from the other kids at school, the introspective teen is naturally drawn to the dark side, harbouring fears that he has within him the inert compulsion to kill. Nonetheless, John is a likeable sort – smart and often kind, and resolutely committed to keeping any unwholesome urges in check. But when a string of brutal murders rocks his sleepy midwestern hometown, he begins to suspect a supernatural force may be at work. Now, after years of battling his own personal demons, John must come face to face with a very different kind of monster. 

Gorgeously shot on evocative 16mm by acclaimed cinematographer Robbie Ryan (I, Daniel Blake, American Honey), Irish director Billy O’Brien’s ingenious adaptation of Dan Wells’ cult YA novel is a chilling and darkly humorous study of adolescent alienation, featuring a knockout performance from Max Records as the most disarmingly empathetic young sociopath you are ever likely to meet. This genre-bending thriller also co-stars Christopher Lloyd and Breaking Bad’s Laura Fraser.