If you’ve seen 2021’s Last Survivors or 10 Cloverfield Lane, you’ll have a notion of where Shadows, an Irish-Italian thriller from director Carlo Lavagna, is coming from.

In the aftermath of an unspecified yet apparently world-changing event, sheltered Alma (Mia Threapleton) and her sister Alex’s (Lola Petticrew) existence is an isolated one; in an abandoned hotel deep in the forest, under the rigid regime of their more than eccentric mother (Saskia Reeves).

In typical post-apocalyptic fashion, going outside has its limits; the deal being both girls have been conditioned to believe that the sun’s become too dangerous to be exposed to, as well as that there’s shadow THINGS lurking beyond the river; the boundary that must never be crossed. The night is their day, all necessary tasks carried out with touchingly unquestioning faith in their mother’s draconian ways.

Blossoming teenage rebelliousness in Alex is offset by Alma, who’s torn between the rules ingrained by her mother, and fear of being without Alex who, with the gradual realisation that their mother’s eccentricities are spiralling dangerously into unhinged unreliability, has become more than just curious about who and what the world out there really DOES consist of. Are they the only people left, or are there other survivors? As their mother’s behaviour worsens and their need to simply survive grows, they’re forced to take control of events which they’ve hitherto been neither exposed to nor prepared for.

Shadows, like many productions with a minimal cast, focuses mainly on the characters’ interpersonal relationships, in this case that of the rising tension and conflicts inevitable in any restricted household environment, let alone that of two exceptionally close sisters in their early teens and an unstable, overbearing matriarch lacking in maternal warmth who rules with an iron fist in a shrunken world that’s all the youngsters have ever known.

The post-apocalyptic thriller with a small cast is far from an unfamiliar concept, ideal ground for successfully building up and drawing out tensions and fears, often to snapping point. Something about this one though seemed particularly effective in this capacity; the naiveté of the girls and their palpable fear of disobeying or speaking negatively of their mother, even during her increasingly prolonged absences, generates an atmosphere of the anxiety inherent in most  children when risking the wrath of a parent (something the majority of us can instantly identify with), and this within what’s meant to be a place of safety, even before they decide whether or not to venture into whatever unknown dangers await outside. It really does become a question of which decision holds the direst consequences for them.

All three actors play their parts exceptionally well, the dreary setting, and pacing that’s the epitome of the slow burn only serve as contrasts to the sudden and extreme emotional scenes when they occur; were it not for this approach the weight of terror, panic, and shocked realisations would not have been conveyed with anything near the power which results.

If you’re after a large-scale, action-stuffed zombiefest where muscular, oily-sheened warriors toting assorted weapons watchfully traverse dense, crackling woodland in search of salvation, then this one ain’t for you, but for anyone who knows the raw terror of a lost child in fear of a parents’ punishment, with little but their own small reserves of courage to fall back on, then Shadows is an introspective, understated offering that’s well worth a go.

6.5 out of 10 Shadows Indeed