VOD's You Should See: Rust Creek

VOD's You Should See looks to highlight independent cinema that has a very limited theatrical release or is being directly released On Demand. The hope of this column is to help other film lovers discover an indie gem and for the film to be recognized and seen by a wider audience!

This week's film: Rust Creek

Instead of spending time with her family for Thanksgiving, Sawyer (Hermione Corfield) decides to head to Washington D.C. for a job interview. Her GPS leads her astray and she finds herself lost in the backwoods of Kentucky. Two local men, Buck (Daniel R. Hill) and Hollister (Micah Hauptman), stop to offer her help, but their good intentions quickly prove to be more dangerous as Sawyer must defend herself. After being stabbed in the leg, she must escape to safety in the woods. Nearing death, she is found by Lowell (Jay Paulson) and her wounds are treated. Will Lowell, who cooks meth in his isolated home, help Sawyer or will she need to rely on local police to find her?

While the film starts out very formulaic, it quickly separates itself from other films of its type when Sawyer proves to be more than capable of defending herself and fights back. Don't let her diminutive size fool you, Hermione Corfield more than sells her capable character, never really becoming a damsel in distress. If it's seen by enough people, this could be a breakout role for her. Although he shows up about halfway through the film, Jay Paulson also impresses as Lowell, a meth cooker with a heart of gold.

The thriller aspects reminded me a lot of 2013's Blue Ruin. The violence in the film often happens without warning and in parts is quite brutal. Kudos to director Jen McGowan and writer Julie Lipson for keeping the film tightly paced and the stakes plausible. Sawyer can't afford to trust anyone and is always at risk of being discovered due to her leg wound, with it getting worse and worse until she is discovered by Lowell.

Another plus, at least for me personally, was the film being set in Appalachia. While it didn't do the residents of the area any real favors, the backwoods setting took me back home and the film gets a lot of mileage out of the claustrophobia and unpredictability it creates. It's a resource and setting that is rarely used in films, especially nowadays.

The film loses some steam whenever it cuts away from Sawyer and we start to follow the local police as they try to find out what happened to her. This part features not only the worst acting but the worst elements of the plot, revealing the true villain way too early. The film definitely would have been a lot better had it never left Sawyer's POV.

Thanks to a thrilling setting and a star-making turn by Corfield, Rust Creek is a Must See VOD.

Rust Creek is currently available for purchase on iTunes or any On Demand service.