It’s depressingly rare today to come upon a suspense film that genuinely keeps you guessing the direction it is heading in. Jeremy Saulnier’s REBEL RIDGE, a politically pointed, punchy modern Western certainly does that. Terry (Aaron Pierre) rides into a small town to pay his cousin’s bail and falls afoul of a corrupt and institutionally racist police department under Chief Burnne (Don Johnson). Terry must work with public defender Summer (AnnaSophia Robb) and an anonymous police mole and utilise the skills from his past in his fight for justice. All of Saulner’s films are visceral, uncomfortable watches but the sense of righteous anger directed at the systemic racism still permeating US society and the balance between heightened tension and grounded emotionality makes this one of his most satisfying works to date. It probably runs a little long and does slightly strain credulity in the final act, but it’s one hell of an effective thriller overall. SSP