Wendy Ide 

The Shack review – death by syrup

Misguided, folksy drama about a man whose faith is tested when his daughter is murdered
  
  

Sam Worthington and Octavia Spencer in The Shack.
Sam Worthington and Octavia Spencer in The Shack. Photograph: Jake Giles Netter/film company handout

Making a sincere film about religious faith is a tricky thing to pull off. And this folksy dose of misguided manipulation demonstrates many of the common pitfalls. Sam Worthington stars as Mack, a husband and father whose Christian faith is understandably tested when his youngest daughter is abducted and murdered during a camping trip. He is summoned to the shack where his daughter died by “Poppa”, his wife’s overly familiar nickname for God. And there he meets Octavia Spencer, dispensing cracker-barrel wisdom and twinkly smiles at odds with the crude child-death device.

Watch a trailer for The Shack.
 

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