Look. Like any good horror movie aficionado, I enjoy trying to guess the twist, pick the killer, or figure out who’s going to die next. And it’s not necessarily a bad thing if you can do this. In fact, it’s often a sign that the movie makes sense and is flowing. But after receiving an advanced copy of and watching Death of Me, I was so happy that I got to say “Called it!!!” excitedly at a few big moments in the film. Regardless, I still had some surprises and a fun journey throughout.

Death of Me, directed by Darren Lynn Bousman, is great. I don’t get to say that about a lot of horror movies lately. It seems that a lot fail in the writing and good story departments and then overcompensate with overblown CGI or blood and guts. Many others are just clearly cheaply made.

But literally from the first scene, an absolutely beautiful overhead shot of a small set of islands said to be somewhere in Thailand, I was excited to see they spent actual money on this film. The picturesque views and scenery were a great juxtaposition against the script of a woman’s slow mental decline in a confusing foreign world. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Maggie Q and Luke Hemsworth (he still looks more like Thor than I ever will) are a happily married couple on a business vacation in Thailand. Hemsworth, a travel writer, is there to cover some local customs and a festival that no one else seems to celebrate. It was a little unclear if this festival was the reason they came or if he discovered it while there.

Nevertheless, the two of them manage to have the traveler’s worst nightmare of losing their wallets, passports, and luggage, and then they’re trapped on the island as the ferry chugs away. Considering the beauty of the place, it didn’t seem that bad… until they realize neither can remember anything from the night before and watch a video where he murders her and buries her body. Whoops?

Now, I’m not saying any married couple hasn’t at least yelled, “I want to strangle you sometimes!” But in my experience, very few of them actually do so, record it, and then watch it with their spouse the next day. And being a divorce attorney, I assume I’d know.

But this sets our heroine, Maggie Q, on a long path around the island trying to find out what happened, why it happened, and what comes next.

It’s worth noting that this film is smart. There was a moment where I exclaimed to my wife while watching, “So wait… is this going to be The Wicker Man?” Minutes later, Hemsworth asked Maggie Q what the characters in The Wicker Man did when they were confronted with this situation – “THEY didn’t have cell phones…”

Later, I asked how in the world the two characters ended up staying an extra night at their room when they had lost their money and passports. And then someone arrived on screen and said, “Why are you still here?! You’re supposed to be gone!” This happened several times, and it was pleasant to watch a film that pays attention to itself and anticipates questions the audience might have… and does its best to answer them.

It’s not a perfect film, but it’s genuinely hard to find much to criticize, because it’s clear the writers and directors did a thorough job of looking at the details – something many horror films often don’t bother with.

I won’t spoil the secrets of the film and the island, as it was a fun time going on the journey with the characters. But I will say, even though I managed to figure out the key theme, the fleshed-out story was genuinely good. As I said before, I don’t mind if I can guess who the killer is in a mystery/horror movie, as long as the rest of the movie fills in gaps that make sense and make the world feel real. And Death of Me did just that. I knew the direction we were headed, but the whys and whos of the story were pleasantly revealed as the movie went on.

I know I’ve used a lot of words like pleasantly and good and beautiful and adventure, which are somewhat odd for a horror film. And to be quite honest, when I watched the trailer and saw that this was from the makers of the Saw series, I expected an eventual ramping up of blood and guts. But in the end, it was just a good movie with horror elements.

Yes, there are some moments when you will say, “Oh gross!!” Yes, there are moments when you’ll want to hide your eyes. But there are also great moments where a bad guy gets their comeuppance and you shout, “Oh yeah!!” And there are other moments where your toes curl a bit in response to the creepiness.

In the end, Death of Me is less a creepy horror movie and really just a good movie with a good story… that happens to have horror elements.

I give this film a solid thumbs up: three Hemsworth brothers out of three.

Death of Me is scheduled for release in theaters, on digital, and on VOD on Friday, October 2. Go check it out. You’ll enjoy it.