OUT ON DVD AND BLU-RAY FROM 4 FEB

She may be the daughter of David Lynch, but there's nothing remotely surreal or narratively unconventional about Jennifer Lynch's latest film, a gruelling character study that delves dangerously deep inside the mind of a serial killer. 

The plot finds a mother and her nine-year-old son kidnapped by a taxi driver (an terrifying turn from Vincent D'Onofrio, who was Private Pile in Full Metal Jacket), whose subsequent actions leaves the boy orphaned and chained up in his house. Over the ensuing years, the murderous taxi driver brings back an endless stream of female victims to be slaughtered, while he also attempts to become a warped father figure (of sorts) for the incarcerated boy he names Rabbit.

Despite the incredibly uncomfortable subject matter, Chained doesn't resort to torture porn histrionics nor revel in its violent acts. Instead it carefully and intelligently probes into its characters' psyches, delivering a thought-provoking and disturbingly mesmerising watch.

The result is probably the best serial killer character study since John McNaughton's classic Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer.