John Lennon’s “Long and Winding Road” seems a theme for this year’s crop of genre pictures. The Desert Road in Shannon Triplett’s film is where a young photographer (Kristine Froseth) finds her life stuck as she retreats from her dreams of photographic recognition. Some unknown force keeps her in the same place, unable to progress until she masters the place’s secret and chooses to continue on her own path.

Desert Road is a lovely coming-of-age story with a Groundhog Day approach to forcing its character to change that can’t help but be charming. We are ultimately as delighted as she is to figure out what the film’s puzzle is, and its complexity leaves us reeling in a rollercoaster type of way. It’s unnecessary to find a Primer-adjacent road map that might best explain how everything ties together; there’s enough emotional payoff and keep-you-guessing plot points edited with precision to make an effective little picture, if not an exceptional one.

Part of what made episodes of The Twilight Zone effectively creepy and exhilarating were their short length. The show’s infamous fourth season extended their oddball premises to hour-length episodes, leaving too much fat still hanging on what could be solid thrills. Desert Road‘s 90 minutes similarly stagnates a few times, leaving us feeling as lost and pointless as its protagonist for long, empty stretches. Most viewers will forget the second act boredom when the relief of the third act’s reveals kick in, but an effective thriller requires a road that twists from beginning to end.