A dramatic thriller built on a horror foundation, this film stays focused on Esme, a mysterious, nomadic single mom struggling to protect her son. It covers similar ground to the second half of (the far richer) Good Manners, another exploration of love and sacrifice in the form of an unconventional werewolf film. 

Director Emma Tammi makes smart use of a low budget. Even a car crash is staged as suggestion and aftermath. There’s little gore, no transformation sequence, and the expected viciousness is backloaded. If you can break away from any genre expectations and ignore what’s not here, what is here has solid tension and gets elevated by the tough/tender performance of Megalyn Echikunwoke.