The filmography of Scott Cooper is thematically dark. The weight of guilt and regret, of suppressed emotion and the darkness of the human soul run through his films and characters, whether it is Christian Bale’s troubled veteran soldier in Hostiles (2017) or Jeff Bridges’ washed-out country singer in Crazy Heart (2009). When you blend that filmmaking sensibility with Guillermo del Toro’s creative, often monstrous flare you have a rich well from which to draw. The result is Antlers, a dark, unflinching horror fantasy that channels the talents of both men.

In a decaying blue-collar Oregon town, Sheriff Paul Meadows (Jesse Plemons) attempts to reconnect with his recently returned sister Julia (Keri Russell) while dealing with the town’s drug problem and the discovery of a mutilated body. Julia has taken a job in the local school and becomes interested in quiet kid Lucas (Jeremy T. Thomas) and perhaps identifying something from her own past in his behaviour, starts to delve into his home life.

There is little light, either literally or metaphorically in Antlers. From the feral, animalistic affliction that has overtaken Lukas’ father to the past siblings, Paul and Julia are struggling to overcome. Cooper brings his usual intensity to a tale – based upon Nick Antosca’s short story – that in lesser hands may have become exploitative. Tensions drawn by familial abuse and reluctant duty simmer under the surface, while the mythical spirit of the Wendigo provides a physical representation. What’s most impressive, is that Cooper doesn’t temper the horror. More than with his previous films, the internal struggle is given form and does not disappoint.

There are moments that perhaps don’t work as well, from some necessary exposition to a ‘final battle’, but the performances are supremely engaging and with the atmosphere as intoxicating as the town’s opiate problem, you’ll quickly forgive.

Antlers is in cinemas now.