Returning to his hometown, David, an ambitious screenwriter, who lives with his wife, Amy, an actress, with whom he makes a journey back to his hometown, where he hires a guy to repair the house, whom he finds out to be the ex boyfriend of his wife, the thing that challenges him.
On the bright side, it's probably the only movie ever made to boast kickass tunes by the southern-rock triumvirate of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Molly Hatchet, and Blackfoot.
While Lurie could have gone lighter on the symbolism, he ratchets up the tension with deft intelligence. He's not just making a thriller but a horror film, and we feel his own fear in every scene.
One of those movies that sits in an armchair, smokes a pipe and reflects "seriously" on "the question of violence," but the main reason to see it is for the hilariously nasty uses it devises for a bear trap, nail gun, etc.