The Shrine (2010)

Dir: Jon Knautz

A bonehead journalist drags her photographer boyfriend (who could do a whole lot better, all things considered) and her cannon fodder intern on an unsanctioned trip to Poland. They try (badly) to track down a number of American backpackers who've gone missing but instead find a spooky cloud of fog in the forests, a bleach-blonde gym-rat farmer who LOVES TO SHOUT and a statue of the Devil with eyes that cry blood! Yeah! Now we're talking. The Shrine is above average for this kind of horror as it takes a couple of risks - from the three significant tonal shifts in the film to the fact that there's a whole 15 minute section with dialogue entirely in unsubtitled Polish - and they pay off for the most part. The photography is that horrible washed-out blue that's a touchstone for "HORROR!" nowadays but otherwise, this is a zippy, gory little B-feature that'll pass the time on a lazy afternoon. **1/2