From Bava to Soavi, Italy’s reputation as a beacon of quality horror cinema is formidable; that said, it’s been a few years since we encountered a top-tier Italian talent of note. Enter Federico Zampaglione, the lead singer of pop band Tiromancino, who’s pulled what we like to describe as ‘a bit of a Rob Zombie’ and directed his own flight flick, and a pretty damn good one at that. Shadow initially suggests a topical riff on Deliverance – a young Iraq war veteran (Jake Muxworthy) on an off-road cycling holiday encounters some sadistic hunters – before mutating into something far stranger (and more interesting) altogether. We don’t want to give too much away, save to say that any motion picture that features a sickle-wielding psycho who licks toads for kicks is alright with us. FYI: the gloriously retro score by Andrea Moscianese, channelling Goblin’s music for the films of Dario Argento (Dario’s feeling lots of Horrorthon love this year), is worth the price of admission alone.