Rated: Not Rated | Running Time: 96 Minutes
From: Dark Sky Films
In Theaters and on Digital: July 24, 2026
It’s Australia, it’s 2019, and fires are really messing up lives.
But it wasn’t just the fires messing up the lives of mom, Maria (Mavournee Hazel) and young Dai (Diesel La Torraca). Nope, dad, Jason (Josh McConville) is an asshole, and mom is just trying to protect her son.
What to do? Mom and Dai flee the fires, but really, they are fleeing dad, and Maria works to set up a new life for them. The problem? Jason is on the hunt, and nothing is going to stop him.
The movie is “Cruel Hands,” from Director Al Kalyk, and while the story is fairly simple, violent husband/dad is on the hunt for mom and son, Al does a wonderful job of building the suspense through to the ending.
“Cruel Hands” starts with Maria and Dai finding a new place to live, and life is kind of boring. There is the proverbial trying to figure food and living conditions, because, well, they have nothing, but a mom can be resilient. The other challenges are that Dai is missing having a home, and Maria is doing her best to make sure they lay low and don’t bring any attention to themselves.
The movie jumps between present day, with Maria and Dai hiding out, and multiple flashbacks showing just how much an asshole Jason really is. Yup, booze and brutality are parts of Jason’s life.
With the brushfires raging, and people being evacuated, Jason doesn’t care. He is relentless, tracking down anyone who might have any idea where Maria and Dai might be, and the evil in him truly begins to show.
Back in hiding, though, Dai is a kid and just wants to be a kid. The thing is, he doesn’t understand the gravity of the situation, sneaking out of the house and bringing some unwanted attention to the pair.
While things are kind of calm for Maria and Dai, it’s pretty obvious things will start to go horribly wrong. There might be a gun being shot when it probably shouldn’t have been, and you will just wonder when dad is going to catch up with them.
And with that, suspense time truly comes to “Cruel Hands.”
You get some cops, you get a body, you get badness, and yup, all hell, and fire, break loose.
“Cruel Hands” does a decent job of keeping you on the edge of your seat, especially towards the end, but there are some scenes that will have you go “come on,” like the line, “It’s the police, we have the forest surrounded.”
You will, however, see how assholes really know how to be manipulative when Jason calls for Dai with the line, “Did you ever see me hurt your mother?”
For the most part I enjoyed “Cruel Hands,” even with ending that leads you where you expect. It’s a was solid movie in the suspense realm. The only problem I had was an unanswered “What about the body?” question. That part of the story seemed a little out there, but get past it and enjoy the rest of “Cruel Hands.”
It’s 3 ½ stars out of 5 from me for “Cruel Hands.” Grab your snacks and hunker down knowing that in the end Maria knows what to do.
That’s it for this one! I’m Andy!! L8R!!!