EIFF 2026: The Peril at Pincer Point
With The Peril at Pincer Point, directors Jake Kuhn and Noah Stratton-Twine have created a wonderfully atmospheric low-budget cinema marvel that sits somewhere between Lake Michigan Monster and Widow’s Bay
Stories of dramatic measures in service for a film shoot make great meta subjects, but few have as much fun as The Peril at Pincer Point. The surreal tone is set from the first scene, when a screaming couple try to capture a mouse in their London high-rise flat and find – puzzlingly – it’s actually a crab, with no compunctions about using its pincers.
The man in the apartment turns out to be Jim (Jack Redmayne), a sound recordist whose latest sloppy work has landed him in hot water with his artistic collaborators. When director P W Griffin (Os Leanse) – a tyrant riding on his previous hit Frogopolis – checks in unexpectedly, Jim is the obvious fall man. The only way to redeem himself is to travel to the island of Pincer Point, record the perfect sound mix, and track down the ideal narrator for this next masterpiece. Upon arrival, however, the mysteries stack up ceaselessly, and Jim finds himself pulled into Pincer Point’s legends.
Not everything comes together in terms of plot or characterisation, but the atmosphere created is a low-budget cinema marvel. Directors Jake Kuhn and Noah Stratton-Twine, with cinematographer Murray Zev Cohen, create a tactile, layered seaside world where each eerie turn is a natural progression. The film is at its strongest when explanations fall by the wayside; there is more than enough in the rich, surreal world to captivate.
Sitting between Lake Michigan Monster, Bulk, and Widow’s Bay, The Peril at Pincer Point is a tremendously good time.
The Peril at Pincer Point had its UK premiere on 16 Aug, with additional screenings on 17 & 19 Aug