Jackals Review

I have to start out by saying I watch a lot of horror films, and although I appreciate the classics being transferred to Blu-ray I still keep my eyes open for something new to hit. Sure lots of horror films come out each month, and for the most part they are all good efforts but Jackals is without a doubt the best horror film I have seen in 10 years easy.
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Jackals is a very basic story. It starts out with a captivating first person look of someone going through a couple's bedroom. Theres a noise and the couple are killed. The view shows our killer going into another room and we find it belongs to his sister. She rushes to see her parents dead when suddenly the killer chokes her to death. We pan back to a shot in the mirror of the killer in back wearing a jackal mask.

From there we meet a young man named Justin. He and his friend are driving down the road but have to pull over when one of their tires go flat. Suddenly two men in ski masks jump them and drag Justin away to a secluded cabin seemingly out in the middle of nowhere.

It turns out the kidnappers are his family. His mom, dad, brother, girlfriend, and her baby have hired a de-programmer (played by Stephen Dorff) to free Justin from the cult he has joined. They are met with nothing but resistance and Justin has been brainwashed completely.

As the family tries to get through to him they notice someone on their property as night falls. Upon investigating it's members of the cult who want Justin back. Suddenly they are surrounded by the dozens of members of this bloodthirsty cult who will do anything possible to get their member back.

I've seen write ups and pressers comparing this to The Strangers. Personally I fell that's a bad comparison as Jackals stands out on its own, and it's way more than a standard home invasion fill. With the terror awaiting the family on the outside, as well as not only the terror of what's coming in, but what they already have inside as Justin is clearly not stable. With a brother who wants to turn him back over to the cult, to the mom and dad who want to protect him the level of claustrophobic terror is sky high.

If I were to make a comparison I would harken it more towards Straw Dogs, as the nomal family man has to resort to levels of violence he has never dreamed of to save his family from invaders. It even has a nice Straw Dog homage when the mother helps to battle one of the members who has crashed into there home.

With fantastic acting, a fresh storyline that focuses on psychological horror as opposed to the blood and guts style, a fantastic score, and a feeling of sheet hopelessness Jackals has official become my favorite horror film of 2017. Throw in a fantastic ending that really does come out of nowhere and you have a tremendous film on your hands.

Scream Factory is handling the release so the color and sound are fantastic as always. Plus they added in

Theatrical Trailers
Director Commentary
Interviews with Cast and Crew

And you have a full evening on your hands. Do not think twice. Go pick this up on October 3rd

Overall 4.5 out of 5 Stars!