The Retreat  ★★

LET’S see how many horror cliches we can tick off in The Retreat from 2021, not the 2020 one.

Prologue death in the woods by an unseen assailant…1.

Overhead tracking shot of car driving along highway with woodlands either side…2

Friends stop at a petrol station with a creepy attended…3

Arrive at remote cabin in the woods…4

Dead animal head strung up in woods suggests something weird may be afoot…5

Foot caught in trap hidden in the woods…6

Somebody chained in a cellar…7

‘Final girl’ proves tougher and more resourceful than the bad guys thought…8

The only interesting change in set-up is the fact that the main characters are gay, until you realise that is only being used for a pretty basic and exploitative treatment

A couple of small surprises, a little tension and one or two decent gore moments in the final act do not make up for the fact you have seen it all done much better.