In her feature debut, Northern Irish filmmaker Aoife McArdle transports us to a small coastal town. The cold, barren landscape reflects the townspeople’s attitude, devoid of any kindness or empathy. This is the environment that 17-year-old Candice (convincingly portrayed by Ann Skelly) has to deal with. No wonder she tries to escape into her own private fantasy world as much as possible—sometimes intentionally, at other times brought on by one of her violent attacks of epilepsy. Paradoxically, that’s when her “visions” seem to be clearest. In one of them she sees a handsome young man who appears to be puzzled. She can’t get him out of her head, particularly since she meets a boy who’s the spitting image of this vision. The desire to get know him is the only thing keeping her in a town terrorized by the local gang. McArdle, an experienced music video director, shows what a committed artist she is. She skillfully creates an atmosphere suspended between dream, hallucination and a challenging (especially for an adolescent) reality. The effect is enhanced both by Steve Annis’ wondrous cinematography and a relentlessly disturbing soundtrack. .