After helming the mixed-reviewed Apollo 18, Spanish director Gonzalo López-Gallego returns to Earth with Open Grave--an interesting new mystery thriller starring Sharlto Copley (District 9). I like to go into flicks knowing little-to-nothing and aside from a few details that's what I did with Open Grave. I expected little and in return got an intriguing mystery that successfully blends a couple commonly-used sub-genres together.

The story starts off like a lot of other similar themed pics, where a man wakes up in a huge pit of rotting corpses not knowing who he is. He escapes the pit to find shelter at a nearby cabin, where he meets up with a handful of other strangers. All of which seemingly suffering from some sort of mild case of amnesia. The first half of the movie is filled with lots of speculation and paranoia both from the characters and the viewers, as we attempt to piece together what exactly happened to these people just as the characters do.

Although we're given a lot of hints along the way, it's not until towards the end of the second half that we really get an idea on what's going on and realize that this isn't just a standard tale of a group of strangers discovering clues about themselves. It's much more interesting and complex and without giving too much away, I can say that it blends another sub-genre into the story unexpectedly well. I hate to cut the review short, but as I said before, it's better to go in knowing very little. Positive aside, there are some some minor pacing issues here and there, but otherwise nothing major.

Aside from some minor pacing issues here and there, I liked it for the most part. It's interesting and really grabs you from the start, ultimately delivering a nice blended twist of sub-genres. Worth a look, especially if you're interested in a good mystery.