The opening scene of "Pod" does a nice job of setting the mood for what I anticipated would be a little story about a monster that terrorizes a snowy winter cabin. I mean, I wasn't expecting anything more than that. What I got was nothing of the sort.

The first 50 minutes of "Pod" is comprised of three people yelling at each other with one guy acting insane. Well, overacting actually. The final half hour offers one suspenseful moment that is ruined by an actress that hysterically screams for way too long. There was also one moment when the main character thinks he sees something in the cellar. It's a good moment for certain, but it's later ruined with a cheap jump scare.

There's also an instance when I was surprised by a secondary character and his actions, which almost paid for the debt incurred by having to sit through the first hour. But the whole thing is ruined (again) by the very last second of the movie, a manipulative wink of the filmmaker's eye toward the viewer.