Burn (2019)

Burn is the kind of lean, mean thriller that takes a familiar setup—a late-night gas station, a botched robbery—and turns it into something nervy and unpredictable, where every choice feels like it could light the fuse on a worse outcome. Mike Gan keeps the story locked in a tight, claustrophobic space, using the fluorescent hum and empty parking lot darkness to build tension until it’s almost a physical presence. Tilda Cobham-Hervey is mesmerizing as Melinda, giving the film its unsettling pulse, while Josh Hutcherson and Suki Waterhouse sharpen the edges of a night that keeps swerving into new, uncomfortable territory. It’s brisk, nasty in the way good crime thrillers can be, and it won’t be for everyone—there’s harsh violence and sexual assault content—but if you want a contained, fast-paced pressure cooker that refuses to play nice or predictable, this one delivers.

Burn wants to be a twisted, darkly funny one-location thriller about loneliness curdling into obsession, with a cat-and-mouse power shift between a would-be robber and an unpredictable attendant. The problem is it often plays like a short film stretched to feature length: the pacing sags, the character psychology jumps when the script needs a new beat, and the “offbeat” tone can feel more awkward than sharp. It’s also got a nasty sexual-violence component that isn’t just background texture, so if that’s a hard no for you, skip it. There are some tense moments and a committed central performance, but if you need believable behavior, tight plotting, and a payoff that feels earned, this one may leave you cold.