Mauler is low-budget slasher fare, with confused motivations and a ridiculous group of squabbling protagonists at its heart. It does improve as the film shoots forward, though, and features a great antagonist who is imposing and menacing in equal measure.

A prologue shows a young boy killing his dad with a sledgehammer, as revenge for the death of his mum, after which his religious fanatic grandma takes him in. 20 years later, a group of college students are parked outside a suburban house with talk of $25k hidden inside it due to a dark web game show. They quickly discover someone is in the house, but decide to go in anyway to ‘tie them up’, not knowing that the seven-foot-tall Mauler (Brick Muddy) is inside.

Character motivations in horror movies are often questionable, but Mauler takes the cake. Leader of the group Stevo (Sebastian Betancur) is immediately happy to upgrade from party organiser to kidnapper, surely anyone living in a murder house might be sinister, and how exactly did someone plant money in such a house with the Mauler living in it?

So many questions, so little time. Luckily, Jada (Skyylar Perdomo) is good value as a possible final girl, and a security guard with a penchant for cultural references (Michael Sullivan) offers great comic relief. The Mauler himself steals the show; shot in intimidating shadow and spouting religious fervour, Brick Muddy creates a worthy adversary and handles the physical demands with gusto. Actor turned director Terence Bernie Hines does what he can with a small amount of cash, but with large parts of the film taking place in a car parked outside the plot, it’s hard to recommend Mauler to the casual viewer.

MAULER is available now on digital platforms.