If the characters of "Hollow in the Land" had been slightly more bizarre and if the film had been graced with an eerie soundtrack, this might have been an episode of "Twin Peaks."

The action takes place in a small, picturesque town in Western Canada. But the residents of Castlegar are too busy with custody battles, crime, drugs, and covering up their dirty laundry to take note of the beautiful landscape.

The narrative focuses on the character of Ally Miller, who is La Femme Nikita transplanted to the Pacific Northwest. Ally turns into a kinetic private eye as she attempts to clear the name of her young brother, who has been placed in her custody after the incarceration of their father, Keith Miller, who was convicted of vehicular manslaughter.

The young lad that was killed by the drunken Mr. Miller was Eli Balkoff, the son of the two town local scions, Helen and Jim Balkoff, who run the Balkoff paper mill where Ally works. Mr. and Mrs. Balkoff have recently dedicated their efforts to building a Center for Misguided Youth in their community, of which there are plenty of examples of juvenile delinquency.

Amid the degeneracy of Castlegar, Ally Miller steps up to the plate to track down the culprits who have framed her little bro, Brandon Miller. Along the way, Ally learns that nearly all of the residents are guarding personal secrets. Two of the most intriguing characters are a pair of elderly women who have for years been growing pot, unbeknownst to the member of the community. Those women may hold the key to collective past of the town that will unlock the secrets to the great antipathy felt towards the Miller family.

The irony of the townspeople is that everyone seems to know everyone else and makes it their personal business to be nosy. And yet, in the end, they really do not know each other's deepest secrets. One of the colorful placenames is that of Snob Hill, where Ally is led to another one of her clues. In this sleepy little trailer park community of Castlegar, it turns out that there really are some social snobs, who may help Ally to undercover the tragic underbelly of her dysfunctional world.

It's been a year since Keith Miller got locked up for running over the Balkoff boy. His kids, Alison 'Al' (Dianna Agron) and Brandon, are outcasts and can't escape his infamy in the small mountain town. Darryl (Shawn Ashmore) is a sympathetic cop but the Chief has his sights set on Brandon. Brandon's girlfriend's dad is murdered. The girlfriend's mother Charlene Hinters (Rachelle Lefevre) is Al's lover. Brandon becomes the main suspect and goes missing. Al decides to investigate herself.

Agron can't escape her Miss America looks unless she does a Monster. This is the next best thing. She's not the best actress but she is more than her pretty face. Limited makeup and letting her dye job show does help to give her more heft. This has a great grinding rural ugliness. It's similar to Winter's Bone but inferior. Agron is not Lawrence. The action could be done better. Directing is generally inferior except it does get the mood right. It's a solid entry into the rural crime genre.

Possible spoiler.

Keith Miller has been in jail for a year when the film starts. He robbed a store drunk and then killed a boy on a bicycle. He gets 15 years sitting in a Canadian jail listening to Anne Murray. His daughter Alison (Dianna Agron),the town lesbian, is given guardianship of her 17 year old brother Brandon ( Jared Abrahamson). Brandon spends his time as a miserable teen. When Earl (John Sampson),a man who the whole town hated, is killed, Brandon, the main suspect goes missing and Alison plays Nancy Drew and uncovers secrets about the town.

The investigation was "Winterbone" slow. The acting wasn't bad, but the pace needed to be better. Also all of the town secrets come at us at 75 minutes into the film without any real clues. We already have a guy we don't like and know it is going to go to him, but does so in a real idiotic fashion.

Guide; F-word. No sex or nudity