THOROUGHBREDS is made in its script. It’s deliciously dark and full of wittily pragmatic musings on humanity like “I have a perfectly healthy brain, it just doesn’t contain feelings”, and “The sawdust smells fantastic, but you’re still in a hamster cage”. Olivia Cooke and Anya Taylor-Joy both play twisted human beings, two troubled teens gearing up to do something horrific, but they’re beguiling, even sympathetic in their reasoning for committing monstrous acts. Their strength of character and confidence in the screenplay shines through in the number of scenes where the camera just sits back and lets the scene play out in a single take, coming across as improvised but presumably heavily choreographed. Your heart breaks all the more for Anton Yelchin’s early passing seeing the ease in which he brings depth to a character who could easily be another one-note stoner. Thoroughbreds is an entertainingly warped character piece and an attention-grabbing calling card for writer-director Cory Finley. SSP