Produced by six-time Oscar nominee Jim Sheridan (My Left Foot) and directed by John Farrelly, this is the first Irish language horror film ever made.

In 1852, during one of the worst famines in Ireland’s history, Éamon Finegan (Tom Kerrisk) and his daughter Máire (Livvy Hill) take on a caretaker role at an isolated mansion, renovating it during an unforgiving winter. I think if I’ve learned anything from horror movies, it’s never work in an large hotel or house during the winter, because there’s definitely going to be something inside the house that either possesses or tries to off you.

As he works to improve the estate, Éamon has an accident and slams his axe into his foot, leading to him having to stay in bed. Máire works on the property and takes care of him as he begins to drink and lose his grasp on reality. As she hides from his rage, she also must beware the specters that exist on the grounds. She’s been haunted before and thought she had escaped. But now, within this home and the elements beating the windows, she’s trapped all over again.

What happens when a third party, the land steward (Anthony Murphy) arrives? And is the ghost who has followed Máire for years, Alexander, real? The close of this movie, with its strobing imagery and overlapping faces, is incredible and unlike anything I’ve seen in film. If the ghost isn’t real — and Máire says that she wishes that it was — then what horror has she truly gone through?

I watched An Taibhse (The Ghost) at Pigeon Share FrightFest. It’s the UK’s best, brightest, and largest independent international thriller, fantasy, and horror film festival and has three major events each year in London and Glasgow. Learn more at the official site.