As Sawyer, Hermione Corfield is probably the most famous of the film’s cast. She is the film’s solid foundation and carries it to the finale. She’s believable, strong, and sympathetic.

Rust Creek, an uneven but ultimately satisfying thriller from indie director Jen McGowan, seamlessly blends horror and thriller elements across its 108-minute running time.

Rust Creek lets you exhale just a bit. It’s tight without being punishing, and its humor takes you happily by surprise. In this sort of film, you’re on guard for pop-up scares and sudden spasms of gore, not for moments of blessed connection. The humanism feels positively radical.

Tense, relatable, and cut from a familiar narrative cloth, Rust Creek manages to overcome a few character and pacing issues to emerge as a quality thriller.

Screenwriter Julie Lipson’s well-written, naturalistic dialogue helps pass the time, as does Michelle Lawler’s lovely scenic cinematography. But although what we get instead stands on its own merits, this survival thriller could have used a few more thrills.