A family dreaming of a white Christmas instead gets a horrific holiday in the chilling new horror mystery Barricade, starring Will & Grace‘s Eric McCormack. Barricade is the latest direct-to-video release from WWE Studios, and it is one of the most gripping horror films the studio has ever put out.

When widower Terrence Shade (McCormack) takes his children (Conner Dwelly and Ryan Grantham) to the mountain cabin their mother had enjoyed as a child, it seems like the perfect way for this fractured family to reconnect while putting some of their grieving behind them. And Terrence has gone out of his way to make it a true escape, stocking the cabin with comfort foods, candy and presents to open on Christmas morning. But not long after the family settles in, the discomfort sets in. Then it gradually turns into full-on terror as it becomes difficult to distinguish reality from nightmare, especially when Terrence has these blackouts after he takes his medication (or is it if he forgets to take it?).

Such questions are part of the intrigue with Barricade. Are there really people (or other creatures) outside the cabin after a blizzard snows the family in? Did several feet of snow really fall in a matter of minutes or did Terrence have another lapse of consciousness? After Terrence barricades the family in, does it actually keep the evil out or is the sinister presence now trapped inside with them? Director Andrew Currie really keeps the viewer guessing, while throwing in some stylistic nods to Alfred Hitchcock, John Carpenter and other masters of macabre that have clearly inspired him.

Barricade also has a slight Japanese horror feel, especially when the children become possessed by the inexplicable energy that permeates the cabin. And the surrealist qualities of many scenes are not all that different from something out of a Michel Gondry or Spike Jonze film. The environments themselves – the lodge with its taxidermy, depressingly retro hues and The Shining-like atmosphere, as well as the cramped tool shed filled with sharp objects and other dangers – give every scene an impending ominousness that only sometimes makes itself apparent.

Once Terrence’s subconscious begins to catch up with his reality (and after the tragedy that the family has suffered is fully explained to the viewer), the horror only becomes worse as it starts to look like maybe the monster was with the family before they even ventured into the mountains. But even then there is still suspicion, and it is never fully apparent who or what has been terrorizing the family all this time. And it’s that not knowing that leaves the viewer with that unsettled feeling that only a good horror film can provide.

For more information, go to www.barricademovie.com.