“Hell is empty,” cries the character Ferdinand in William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, “and all the devils are here!” Following the destruction of his boat in a terrible storm, Ferdinand (and the other passengers) becomes stranded on a strange and somewhat mystical island, peopled by a small number of inhabitants both good and sinister.

Hell is Empty begins with the disappearance of Lydia (Spencer Peppet), whose mother declines to post a reward for her. But despite this abandonment, she is saved, spirited safely away to a small island where she awakes, surrounded by beauty and religious iconography. Other young women are there to greet her, but they do so with suspicion, even pointing a crossbow at her. At crossbow-point, they take her to her rescuer: Artist (Travis Mitchell). Artist, also known as Ed, is the only man on the island and is some sort of self-styled prophet. He explains to Lyd that her coming was foretold, showing her a painting that does, indeed, look like her.

After this meeting, the other women accept Lyd with open arms, joyously welcoming her into the fold. And Lyd, for her part, is enchanted by the beauty and religious fellowship around her. She agrees to stay on the island, joyously going about her prayers and chores, and getting along well with the other young women, especially the noticeably pregnant Saratoga (Nia Farrell), who believes the baby she’s carrying is the next son of God. But not everything is as joyous as it seems in the little religious community, and a tempest will soon change everything.

Hell is Empty is a very well-styled movie, filled with the influence of medieval and Renaissance art. DaVinci’s The Last Supper is a recurring motif, while manuscripts and masters alike are referenced in shots and artwork. The parallels to The Tempest are there, and not just in Lydia’s arc. And the folk music singalongs add a sprinkling of charm that makes the setting a touch more believable.

Lydia as a character stood out to me. Right from the get-go, I assumed I knew how she would react to the sort of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt situation she found herself in. The Spirited Protagonist was going to take one look at this group of women led by one creepy man and do everything she could to get away, how droll. But instead, Lyd surprised me by embracing her situation wholeheartedly. It’s never clear exactly what she was running from when Ed/Artist found her, but finding God seems to do her a lot of good. While she does morph into that more archetypal role over time, it was refreshing to see a protagonist who didn’t do exactly what I thought she was going to do. Spencer Peppet’s performance isn’t always the best, but for a debut role, I’m willing to forgive a few stilted moments.

The supporting cast are phenomenal. As Ed, Travis Mitchell is warm and jovial or unhinged and sinister as the situation calls for it. His right hand woman, Vivian (Laura Resinger), is the picture of a fundamentalist mother hen – unwilling to put up with any guff from the girls, but also a little more willing to differ with her man. Nia Farrell’s Sara is a true believer and impossible not to love despite it. Millie (Meredith Antoian) brings gravitas to the role of skeptic, and while Murph (Aya) ventures a little close to stereotype territory, Aya plays the role very well.

A wee bit Carrie, a touch O Brother, Where Art Thou?, and a little bit Midsommar, Hell is Empty is a well-woven tapestry of arthouse thriller, religious folk horror, and pastiche that deserves more recognition.

8 out of 10