A vigilante cop and a vengeful father capture and interrogate an accused serial killer. Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado’s brutal follow-up to Rabies (TFF 2011) examines a horror that most would not want to imagine: what would you do if someone hurt the one you loved most? A revenge thriller with teeth, Big Bad Wolves delivers on its raw tension with operatic drama.

The Israeli horror pioneers have stepped firmly out of the slasher genre with this deftly dark riff on unhappily ever after. An unsettling scenario of men pushed too far in the aftermath of a horrific crime against an innocent child, the film avoids cliché by delivering on its creators’ continued promise of unpredictability. The cast, led by award-winning Israeli actor Lior Ashkenazi (Footnote), offers a slow-burning intensity that occasionally explodes in bursts of violence and shocking revelations. With a film built on powerhouse performances and tangibly gritty atmospheric touches, the duo is making a solid return to TFF filled with twists and turns.

—Loren Hammonds