Ben inherits a mysteriously abandoned coastal property in Hobbit’s Bay, Oregon and takes his family to explore it. The property, with its overgrown house and a gigantic tank, holds a dark secret. As the family delves deeper, they accidentally unleash an ancient, long-dormant creature that had once terrorized the town. The film follows their struggle to survive and escape the wrath of this monstrous entity.

Directed and written by Scott Walker, this has led me to add to my advice of never going home to settle family estates. If your family has an overgrown house with a gigantic tank as part of it, just sell it sight unseen. You don’t need to live there, and you don’t need to open anything to unleash a creature.

The Tank, shot in New Zealand and featuring practical effects by WETA, promises a visually stunning monster. Matt Whelan, as Ben, and Luciane Buchanan, as Jules, deliver compelling performances that carry much of the film’s weight. The tension is palpable, and the audience is aware from the start that a monstrous threat looms.

Or monsters! Who is to say!

It looks great, even if you’ve seen everything in it before, but it’s a dependable monster movie, and sometimes, that’s precisely what you want to watch.

The Tank is available on demand, as well as DVD and Blu-ray from Well Go USA Entertainment.