How far would you go to speak with the prematurely departed one last time?

Using the kind of disorienting sound and lighting design you might encounter in a horror film, Second Thought Theatre takes a cinematic approach to the premiere of executive director Parker Davis Gray’s personally motivated Incarnate .

Coupled with emotionally calibrated performances by Kristen Lazarchick and Jeffrey Schmidt that jump between quiet and loud like a Pixies or Nirvana song, the highly structured production directed with a claustrophobic grip by Jenna Burnett is one of the most riveting shows of the North Texas theater season so far.

Even before the lights come up at the start of Incarnate — two tense hours with no intermission to break its spell — a faint soundscape hovers over the room. Flowing water, thunder, voices cackling or under stress can be heard in the distanc