WARNING SIGNS

An avalanche traps a 12-year-old boy on a mountain with a monster.

It’s been a year since Zach Fisher’s mother died, leaving him and his sister, Bonnie, alone with their tyrannical father, Bram. Entrepreneur Bram rarely acknowledges Zach’s existence except to denigrate him, so when Bram orchestrates a fathers-and-sons ski trip to woo a trio of potential investors, Zach is hopeful it’ll be an opportunity for him to finally earn praise. Unlike Bram, Zach is well acquainted with the Colorado backcountry and its hut system thanks to the outings he and Bonnie made with their mom, who also taught the kids outdoor survival skills and avalanche safety. Unfortunately, the weekend gets off to an unsettling start when, on the hike in, Zach stumbles across a recently deceased elk whose skull and neck vertebrae have been stripped preternaturally clean. Then, upon reaching their reserved hut, a furious Bram discovers that not only did his assistant fail to arrive early and spruce up the place, but the richest of his invited guests isn’t coming. That evening, on a visit to the outhouse, Zach hears “a dragging, punctuated by a squelching,” and sees a “black, wavering form” moving up the ridge. While Zach resolves not to tell the others for fear of his father’s mockery, he can’t help but think of the mutilated elk—a thought that resurfaces the next morning when everyone dons their skis to take advantage of the deep, newly fallen snow. Sierra’s backdrop proves fertile ground for peril, though those unfamiliar with the Colorado backcountry and its unique brand of recreation may find themselves confusedly casting about for context clues. The setup takes a tad too long, but once the scene is set, the story snowballs, resulting in an adrenaline-fueled sprint during which machismo trumps reason and amplifies danger at every turn.

A pulse-pounding, heart-rending thrill ride.