A couple are in for a night they will never forget in this thriller from director Jared Allmond that goes a very shocking turn in its third act.

Albie and Penny are a couple who have not been doing so well. Penny, a former actress, has given up her career in hopes to focus on raising their family of four. Albie on the hand, is hard at work on writing a project to serve as a pilot for a potential series. In a last-ditch attempt to save their marriage, they leave their two kids with a relative and go on a date night. However, they will soon learn this will be a night they will not forget.

Upon returning to their home, they are shocked to find another couple have claimed it as their own. When Albie and Penny confront the couple, they are met with resistance and reluctance from the invading duo. Soon enough, Albie and Penny find themselves separated and tortured for information the couple wants on something within the confines of their home. Will Albie and Penny be able to escape and stop the invading couple or is something else in store for them?

It is always a good thing when aspiring filmmakers come up with ideas for films and decide to not rely on studio pressure or investors telling them what they expect. Instead, they go full speed ahead to make sure the film they want come true. That’s exactly what writer-director Jared Allmond did with the help of producer-star Timothy Haug did with this home invasion thriller. Funding the film themselves and taking advantage of their experience with the recent COVID-19 pandemic by confining most of the film in one house, they explore a lot with the film and somehow, it all goes smoothly.

Haug and Christie Griffin are excellent in their roles of lead characters Albie and Penny. They portray the characters in the first act as a grounded couple who on the verge of collapse. They are polar opposites as Penny is seen as someone who gave up on a dream to focus on raising a family while Albie pursues a dream so he doesn’t end up working for and inheriting his father’s business. It gets to where a date night becomes a bit of a mixed reaction as Albie explains why he is doing what he is doing and hopes Penny will support him given her past experience in the industry.

Kudos must go out to Miles Taber and Julianne Ruck as the invading couple who take over Albie and Penny’s home. We never get their names, but they deliver terrifying performances, especially Ruck during her interrogation scene with Penny. While home invading films offer torture in a more grotesque form, Allmond opts for a more grounded approach and brings a more psychological warfare vibe to the interrogating of both Albie and Penny. What’s even more questionable is what exactly are these invaders looking for? It feels like Becky, where our villains are looking for a key, but a key to what? No spoilers, but once the third act kicks in, it will both raise questions and make jaws drop.

The Hive sets out to do what it is meant and takes the home invasion angle to a more against type in terms of its method to interrogating but the third act is truly one that helps and is quite a shock.

WFG RATING: B+

Buffalo8 presents a HAUG MGMT production. Director: Jared Allmond. Producer: Timothy Haug. Writer: Jared Allmond. Cinematography: Jonathan B. Na. Editing: Rachel Allmond.

Cast: Timothy Haug, Christie Griffin, Blake Eli, Miles Taber. Julianne Ruck, Mark Norwood, Whitney Reade, Anabelle Crivelli, Elizabeth Schembre.

The film is now playing on Demand and Digital.