Review: Betrayal

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Official Synopsis: Three brothers (Daniel Portman, Brian Vernel, Calum Ross) return to the remote woodland where they killed their abusive father (Paul Higgins) only to discover his shallow grave is now empty, forcing them to question one another's loyalty with devastating consequences as fear and paranoia set in.

Know this before going into Betrayal - originally titled Kill: (that's how you'll find it on Letterboxd) you will need to suspend a lot of disbelief. At first, it comes easy. We wouldn't have a movie if the brothers didn't make on crucial mistake at the beginning of the film. 

But as the film went on, it was more of a struggle to continue to give it grace. The way flashbacks are introduced felt a bit clumsy, even though they are absolutely necessary for the story. There's a bigger secret hinted at throughout that in the end just felt like more of a distraction. 

On the other side of it, Daniel Portman gives an amazing performance. He's always been a good actor but it's nice to see him really show his range here. He was the best part of the film for me. The production designers did an amazing job as well. You really feel cold and drab along with these characters.

In the end, while I wouldn't call this a bad film, it does fall into the category of letting atmosphere do more work than the script (hello, Longlegs) I think it's still work seeing if you're a fan of anyone involved. Betrayal is currently available on VOD.

Grade: C

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