Like Chainsaw, plenty will be disgusted by such a nihilistic movie (take a bow, Funny Games), but as Oscar Wilde said, art is neither good nor evil, just well or badly made.

Duigan paints a gorgeous looking picture of Europe’s heady pre-war days, and with the three beautiful and competent leads, it’s hard not to be drawn in.

First time writer/director Bryan Bertino goes for nerve sawing tension rather than gore, and thoroughly achieves it through inventive camera angles and an unsettling score and sound effects. Unfortunately logic, natural behaviour and consistency are all sacrificed on the altar to achieve such a living, breathing sense of dread, and cliché often curbs an otherwise realistic depiction of events.