Paul (Milburne) has been searching for his missing father for years. That search has now taken him all the way from London to Nova Scotia, along the remote Canadian shore, the last place his travelling salesman father was seen. Camping out by the water, he discovers Rauchine (Langrick), a beautiful young girl who has lived her life in isolation in the woods with only her over-protective mother Megan (Watson) for company.
At first Megan is eager to keep Paul away, but she's persuaded to encourage his inquisitions by her own mysterious mother (Massey). Despite his attraction to Rauchine, Megan slowly lets Paul into their lives and he begins to learn the fate that befell his father and the secrets that lie in the nearby Garden Of Dead Roses.
Made by the (briefly) relaunched HandMade films, Radclyffe's striking debut has languished unfairly in distribution limbo. Making strong use of his haunting locations, he burrows deep to find the horror at the heart of his tale. True, you do catch on very quickly and the deliberately slow pacing of the film means there are few surprises. But the cast is strong, and there are some vivid dream sequences, one in particular involving Paul snogging half of Rauchine (you'll have to see it to find out where the other half is).
At times the familial nature of Sweet Angel Mine comes on like a laid back Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but this is still an assured, engaging chiller.