Hyena

Colour, 35 mm
Poland, 2006, 89 min
Section: Variety Critics’ Choice

Synopsis

Hyena is a creepy thriller about – but definitely not for – children that follows a little boy who befriends a murderer on the run who starts snuffing out the kid’s enemies. Adventurously shot and fluidly directed, pic reps an intriguing feature debut for helmer Grzegorz Lewandowski. A pre-pubescent lad (Jakub Romanowski) lives in a small Polish township. When his dad is killed in a mining accident, both mother (Magdalena Kumorek) and son try to carry on as if everything is normal, but his fascination with the horror stories he and his friends tell each other on the way to school each day grows as the tales become more lurid. Pic’s fetid atmosphere consistently compels.