Henry Thomas, Patrick Fugit, Michael Shannon, and Mark Boone Junior all team up for a different kind of horror film. The group play a collection of Confederate soldiers who have just pulled off a bank robbery and are holing up at an abandoned plantation to wait things out.

Unfortunately, they aren’t exactly alone on the plantation. There is some Thing there with them, and since we already know they are bad people… Confederates and bank robbers… we know things aren’t going to end well for them, and they are about to meet something truly horrific.

It’s 1863 in Alabama, and William (Thomas), Sam (Fugit), Clyde (Shannon), Annabelle (Nicki Aycox), Todd (Isaiah Washington) and Joseph (Boone) roll into town, and things go very sideways right from the off, but that’s just the beginning of things, as once they’ve taken shelter at the plantation, they are not ready for what they find.

Or what has found them.

Not only are they dealing with supernatural events and strange things at the plantation, but also dissension in the ranks over the stolen money, Annabelle, and anything else that may cross their minds.

But what is it that is stalking them?

Through ghostly and ghastly encounters, some of which begin to whittle away the members of the gang, we learn the horrifying truth of what happened on the plantation and the dark things that walk its rooms and fields.

The visual effects and some of the gore aren’t quite up to snuff and look pretty bad, though there are some interesting moments, and you let things go because the cast is pretty solid.

The script was penned by Simon Barrett who also wrote You’re Next, and some segments for the original V/H/S so you know he knows he like his subject matter. Thomas has proven himself to be a very solid actor over the years, and I have increasingly enjoyed his appearances in genre films and series, and holy crap, watching Michael Shannon is always fantastic because he just leans into his roles and brings them to vivid, if frightening, life.

It’s not a white-knuckle horror film, instead, it ends up being a bit of a meandering tale, going more for atmosphere tweaked with the occasional jump scare or attack. Consequently, it’s not going to be for everyone, but it’s an interesting take brushing against ghosts, demons, and humanity’s dark nature.

It ends up being an interesting take combining the Civil War with spectral horror, tinged with a touch of creature feature. It’s not going to be for everyone, and I’m not even sure I came down on the side of liking it. I know I liked the cast, but I wanted more from the scares and the pacing that the film didn’t seem intent on giving me.

So maybe give this one a pass.