The Trunk
2022 · 14m · Canada
Directed by Travis Laidlaw
A father and his teen daughter bring home an old chain-covered trunk they found in the woods, and when the daughter opens it that night she unleashes something terrifying and deadly.
Picked by Zoe
The scouts
It's a competent jump-scare machine that mistakes a locked-trunk premise for subversion—the 'found evil' setup is as conventional as they come, and the film seems content to just execute the formula rather than interrogate or twist it.
Laidlaw demonstrates formal control over his escalation and sound design, situating himself squarely in the contemporary creature-horror lineage, though the film doesn't quite achieve the thematic or structural sophistication that would distinguish it within that tradition.
The decision to let the daughter's dread unfold in real time—the specific rhythm of her investigation before the trunk opens, the sound designer's restraint in those early moments—creates genuine tension from almost nothing, which is exactly the economy of choice that makes small horror sing.
Reviews
Writer/director Travis Laidlaw builds up mystery and eeriness wonderfully, adding some jolting, gruesome practical effects makeup for good measure.