Continuing the atmospheric style of modern British horror thrillers like Dog Soldiers, Eden Lake and The Descent comes In Fear.

Starring Iain De Caestecker (Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) and Alice Englert, (Beautiful Creatures), the film tells the story of new couple Tom and Lucy, who end up caught up in a predatory game by an unseen assailant as they become lost in a maze-like forest.

Sherlock director Jeremy Lovering makes the most of the setting, starving the screen of more and more natural light as proceedings get increasingly intense. Claustrophobic camerawork adds a suffocating feel and an improvised script creates notable moments of fear and genuine scares. It is beautifully crafted and makes nice use of the forestry and desolate surroundings to convey the characters loneliness, isolation and despair.

De Caestecker retains his usual likeable charm but provides enough edge in his performance to make him suspicious to the audience. Downton Abbey’s Allen Leech, as the victimising Max, clearly relishes his villainous role and, as good as the film is, it steps up a gear in regards to action and tension from his appearance onwards. Englert, however, is the stand out performer here.

As the fragile, taunted and unsure Lucy her performance is incredibly raw (enhanced by the scripts partially improvised nature) and Englert plays it with a compelling and believable intensity.

The film does have some flaws however. It’s definitely a slow-burner, bordering on uninvolving in the early stages, and it’s down to the individual viewer as to whether they think the eventual pay-off is worth it. While the film probably couldn’t have ended any other way, many may feel exasperated by the film’s closing seconds.

The good far outweighs the bad here though and, ultimately, it’s when we question what we would do if we found ourselves in the same situation that the film provides its most harrowing moments.

With influences from horror films like The Blair Witch Project, The Hitcher and Peeping Tom showing in its storytelling and shooting style, In Fear is an experimental, gothic thriller examining the frailty of the human condition; how we respond to fear, pain, guilt, pain, suspicion and about how far our survival instincts will take us.

Released on DVD and Blu-ray on Monday 10 March.