The Girl On The Mountain Clip: A Backwoods Standoff Over A Fleeing Girl [Exclusive]

Ahead of its release this week, we've got an exclusive clip from "The Girl On The Mountain," a new wilderness-set thriller from filmmaker Matt Sconce.

The clip, which you can watch below, seems to come from a climactic moment in the upcoming film, which is set for digital release March 8. "The Girl On The Mountain" follows a reclusive mountain man (Daniel O'Reilly) as he helps a mysterious, non-verbal girl (Makenzie Sconce) find safe haven after fleeing a dangerous situation. The unlikely pair must work together when the girl's father comes looking for her, bent on revenge.

In the clip, we see outdoorsman Jack (O'Reilly) run across a rocky terrain before laying down with a rifle in a shooting position, as if scoping out an enemy below. "Please, let me save her. Please," he says in a half-whisper. Elsewhere, we see Aira (Sconce) hiding behind a rock, only she's looking in the wrong direction. Two men unfold in the background behind her and begin to head her way. Back where Jack is perched, he hears her scream–a surprising sound given that the film's official synopsis indicates that she doesn't speak. He runs off after her, then hides behind a tree as he approaches.

It turns out, Aria has been captured by a group of four men, who stand spread out across an outcropping of boulders. The head bad guy tells Jack to put his rifle down, but he seems nonplussed, and eventually tells the sinister man to lower his rifle instead. "I'll kill her!" the confusingly accented villain says, and from the looks of the far shot we see, he may be holding a gun to Aria's back. The clip ends with Jack finally showing himself, waving his gun with purpose at the men's' faces and saying, "Don't move! I'll put you down for good this time!"

As someone who grew up in a rural area spending more time than I would've asked to in the wilderness, this all looks very uncomfortable to me. I for one hope Aria finishes out the film happily indoors with a warm cup of tea and a good guardian.

"The Girl On The Mountain" is the latest from Sconce, whose 2016 horror film "Altar" garnered eight awards on the festival circuit. Many of Sconce's other works, including 2010's "Stricken" and a number of short films, seem to prominently feature through-lines of horror, high-stakes pressure, or grief. Several also take place amid the beauty of the American wilderness; "The Girl On The Mountain" was reportedly filmed in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

"The Girl On The Mountain" will premiere via On Demand and digitally on March 8, 2022.