When you think of A24, you probably don’t think of films aimed at younger audiences. The same might be true when you see Willem Dafoe leading the cast. And yet, that’s what we get with The Legend of Ochi, a new film opening on Friday.

The film played festivals earlier in the year but now gets a wide release. It’s shot like something of a fairytale and an adventure, a PG-rated film that is for audiences of all ages. It’s new territory for the studio, but is it a success? Let’s dive in.

The film is set on the island of Carpathia, where creatures call Ochi roam the land and haunt the people. They are reported to have caused distress, attacked livestock, and ruined lives. That leads an obsessed man, Maxim (Dafoe), to hunt them. He takes orphaned boys, or boys from families who have gone bankrupt, and trains them as warriors.

All the while, Maxim mourns the loss of his own wife while trying to build his daughter, Yuri (Helena Zengel) into a warrior. He’s also pouring his energy into Petro (Finn Wolfhard), an orphan who has become like a son. We open with them on a hunt that isn’t successful. The following night, Yuri goes to check their traps.

She finds a young Ochi. It’s trapped and injured. But she’s drawn to it. She doesn’t have a lust for killing like her father. She saves the Ochi and tends to its wounds. Yuri decides to take the Ochi deep into the forest and return it to its family.

When Maxim discovers his daughter is gone, he grabs Petro and the rest of the boys to go on a hunt. Meanwhile, Yuri learns more about the Ochi, her past, and the mother that she hardly remembers.

This film comes from writer/director Isaiah Saxon. It’s his first feature after delivering a number of short films and music videos. It’s a clever idea, and there is a lot to like in the beauty of the world that’s built. I was also drawn to the Ochi. Our baby Ochi, in particular, is the product of some great creature design. It’s so loveable and life-like you can’t help root for it to make its way back home with its family.

The difficulty for me was in the story itself, which is awkward and quite strange. The characters are strange. The world is strange. And even some of the aims of the end of the narrative feel a bit muddled. I like the cast—which also includes Emily Watson—but there isn’t a lot of good character work done here.

Watson, in fact, might have the most engaging character as the long-lost mother and wife, Dasha. She has some clever scenes that work well in building out this story. Dafoe gives it his all, too, but his part is a bit too strange at times for my liking.

I have enjoyed Wolfhard in films in the past, but he isn’t given much to do here. Zengel, who had a starring role in News of the World a few years ago, does a decent job in the lead role. Her spoken lines are sometimes muddled, which can make it more difficult to follow.

In the end, I liked a lot of the creativity that went into this film. But the overall story is beyond quirky and likely won’t work for wide audiences.

The Legend of Ochi opens nationwide on Friday, April 25.

Matthew Fox is a graduate of the Radio, Television and Film program at Biola University, and a giant nerd. He spends his free time watching movies, TV, and obsessing about football. He is a member of the FSWA. You can find him @knighthawk7734 on Twitter and as co-host of the Fantasy Football Roundtable Podcast.