With a film like Calibre, it’s hard to write about it. Not necessarily because the film is hard to analyze, but because a film like this is best viewed knowing as little as possible. Detailing a Scottish hunting trip gone horribly wrong, newcomer director Matt Palmer greatly succeeds in delivering a tense, moody, dark thriller, thanks to his tight direction and his ability in giving his actors great performances.

The script, also penned by Palmer, works so well because of the screeenplay’s smooth pacing. At about 100 minutes, the film is able to very quickly and very successfully establish its characters and their predicament, while also making each moment tense and scary, putting the audience in the shoes of the main characters at all times. That intensity is consistent throughout, thanks to the lean plot progression, as well as the impressive cinematography from Mark Gyori.

But the real glue that holds Palmer’s film together comes from the lead performances of Jack Lowden and Martin McCann. Both accentuate the fear of their predicaments, while also offering humanity, making them sympathetic in spite of their actions. Jack Lowden in particular is utterly fantastic, being able to go through many different complex emotions throughout the film. Both actors’ roles in the climax are especially impressive.

What makes Calibre work so well all falls into the hand of Matt Palmer. As his first directing job, it is rather impressive he is able to make such a taut and well-crafted thriller and utilize his talented actors to his fullest advantage, resulting in a solid Netflix original the service seems to be ignoring for whatever reason. Definitely take the time to see this movie when it pops up on your Netflix queue.