'Gwen (2019)' mini-review — Bad times in the Welsh hills

Gwen follows a young girl must keep her family from falling apart as her community turns against them for mysterious reasons.

60-second review: Dark storm clouds seem to be rolling into the small Welsh village where Gwen takes place constantly — both literally and figuratively. The film is relentlessly dark as the family of women at the center — consisting of mother Elen (Maxine Peake), teenager Gwen (Eleanor Worthington Cox), and youngest Mari (Jodie Innes) — struggles through plight after plight including losing their father to the war, their farm falling apart, and the owners of the nearby mine threatening their land. The movie is appropriately tense, atmospheric, and filled with a sense of dread.

However, it struggles to do anything with all that tension. Director William McGregor, in his film debut, proves he's adept at creating a mood of terror and satisfyingly mixes in elements of gothic and folk horror. But the story never takes off. The journey to its conclusion is so well-craf…