What makes Melissa run?

Directed by Christopher Smith. Starring Melissa George, Liam Hemsworth, Rachael Carpani. 16 cert, gen release, 99 min.

THOUGH NEITHER Creep(terror on the London Underground) nor Severance(terror at a works outing) were all that great, both films had enough zip about them to suggest that director Christopher Smith might produce a decent horror film some day.

Here it is. Triangle– both the name of a boat and a nod towards the Bermuda Triangle – offers a nasty, bloody, deliberately confusing variation on a twist (we'll say no more) that is not uncommon in horror literature. Yet the film is so original in its execution that it never feels hackneyed.

Trianglebegins with an ill-tempered young woman named Jess (Melissa George) tidying up after her autistic son in a sun-bleached Florida suburb. Lawn sprinklers hiss. The camera passes by picket fences.

Smith is directing our thoughts towards Blue Velvetand, whereas Triangleis hardly worthy of comparison with David Lynch's work, it does deal in a similar class of surreal paranoia.

Jess makes her way to a nearby marina and climbs aboard a yacht with an acquaintance and some of his catty pals. They head off for a day’s relaxation, but, before the first bottle has been cracked, a weird, dense storm descends upon them and upends the vessel. An ocean liner trundles into view, but, when they go aboard, the ship appears to be deserted. I said “appears”, mind.

We won’t reveal anything else about the bizarre, intricate plot. Suffice to say that, though there are a few too many reversals in the final act, the film is disciplined enough to keep pulling the rug from beneath its own feet without falling on its cheeky behind.

Moreover, Smith composes one of the most impressively creepy images to appear in a horror film this decade. It occurs about halfway through. See if you can work out which one I mean.