British Iranian director Babak Anvari’s best film since his sensational 2016 debut feature Under the Shadow is about as lean and mean as they come. For most of its run time, Hallow Road unfolds in a car, as anxious parents respond to a distressed call from their college-age daughter, speeding through the night to get to her in time to help. Essentially a two-hander, the movie might have been merely a minimalist exercise — albeit an impressive one — in mounting dread. But high-intensity performances from Rosamund Pike and Matthew Rhys elevate the suspenseful thriller, its psychological grounding gradually expanding into a darker mythic realm.

The setup, in William Gillies’ taut debut screenplay, is brisk and economical. As Dp Kit Fraser’s camera slowly prowls around a house, we see an uneaten dinner on the table and broken glass on the floor, suggesting an argument that cut short family mealtime. Maddie (Pike...