I don’t understand cryptocurrency, but perhaps this movie — which also reflects Gamergate — proves to me that it’s so frightening that maybe I’m better off this way. In an attempt to remove herself from the sexual harassment at her game development job in the city, coder Cara Hammond (Mikayla Iverson) has gone into the woods, so to speak, and found a new home in the rural California countryside.

There, she’s working as an aspiring cryptominer generating new coins in cryptocurrencies with an algorithm of her own invention, she discovers mysterious code embedded deep inside the mining data. Her discovery turns into an investigation for the truth, which quickly turns into a fight for her life. When you’ve spent this much time and energy burying a secret and have this much power, one lone person in the middle of nowhere is expendable, right?

Directed by James Fox, who co-wrote the script with Amy Kay DuBoff, this gets deep into Faraday cages that control voltage and machine code yet never goes above your head. Iverson is also often the only person on screen and is able to keep the story moving all by herself. An interesting movie that does way more than you’d expect from its budget, this will keep you thinking.

Crypto Shadows was watched as part of The GenreBlast Film Festival which is from August 31 to September 3. All screenings for GenreBlast are held at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Winchester, Virginia. Passes are on sale through The Alamo Drafthouse Winchester. Learn more at the official site.