The Dark Valley

A stranger called Greider arrives on horseback at a remote lumber village high in the Alps in the late nineteenth century, asking to stay through the winter. He says he is a photographer. The village is ruled by the Brenner family, who hold the community in a tight grip. Greider is given lodging with the widow Gader and her daughter Luzi, who is about to be married. Once snow closes off the valley, deaths begin and suspicion falls on the newcomer, whose real reasons for coming remain unclear.

Andreas Prochaska directed and co-wrote the film with Martin Ambrosch, based on a novel. It is a German-Austrian co-production made with a budget of about seven million dollars, and it runs 115 minutes. The cast includes Sam Riley as Greider, Tobias Moretti as Hans Brenner, Paula Beer as Luzi, Thomas Schubert, Carmen Gratl and Clemens Schick. According to the facts provided, it is the first of the three features Prochaska has directed, ahead of Welcome Home Baby and Die Kuh, die weint.

The film was released in February 2014. On IMDb it holds a rating of 7.1 out of 10 from roughly fifteen thousand votes, while on TMDB it stands at 7 out of 10 from several hundred votes.