**_Professionally-made low budget horror in the desert_**

Five youths get stuck in the desert after a hermit disables their van. The hermit is the least of their problems, however, as an unknown creature of the night lurks in the area.

I've been watching a lot of barely-a-budget independent horror flicks lately, many with the identical plot as this one (for example, "Delirium" & "Feeding Grounds"), and "The Craving" (2008) is noticeably professional by comparison. Despite a couple cases of dubious photography, the filmmaking is adept enough to pass for a theatrical release, at least a drive-in release. All the major components of filmmaking are proficient: cinematography, cast, acting, script, editing, gore effects, creature effects, etc.

No-budget horror flicks usually have sub-par women and actors in general, but the first act showcases Lesley Paterson as Jeannie and she's top-of-the-line. I'm not referring to the dark-haired girl, Diane, who has a top-nude sequence right out of the gate and who's decidedly average by comparison, although she has a striking face, as noted in the closing shot.

The low ratings and reviews are surprising because it delivers the goods for what it is (cabin-in-the-woods horror) in all the requisite areas noted above. Moreover, the end credits’ instrumental is atmospheric and moving. The main criticism is that there's an emptiness to the proceedings because of the confined location (in the desert, no less) and the small cast.

It runs 1 hour, 38 minutes, and was shot in Desert Center, California, which is a two-hour drive east of Los Angeles off of I-10.

GRADE: B-