With help from the film’s soundtrack, which includes tracks from J. Cole, Outkast, Future, and an original song from the film’s executive producer Common, McMurray creates a world full of raw emotion, tension-filled relationships, and an alternative coming of age journey that we don’t often see in film.

Another Netflix acquisition from the 2017 Sundance Film Festival is having its big debut on the streaming service this Friday and as its name would suggest, “Burning Sands” is a pretty brutal and boundary-pushing watch. The story rings similar to last year’s “Goat” centered on fraternity hazing and the psychological undertaking that pledges are put through before they are finally “accepted” into the brotherhood. Yet we are given a new perspective in “Burning Sands” thanks to director Gerard McMurray, who sets the story in a historically black college.

“It’s all about the brotherhood,” Zurich (Trevor Jackson) says as a small group of pledges make their way to the first day of Hell Week for the Lamda Lamda Phi fraternity at Frederick Douglass University. It’s early in the morning, but that doesn’t stop the older brothers from kicking, screaming, and all around demeaning the young men as a test of their loyalty to the prestigious group. For Zurich, joining the fraternity would be more than just a personal victory; his father had rushed the same frat but dropped out because he couldn’t make it through hell week.

Hell week, we come to find out, tests more than just the pledges’ physical strength, but also their pain tolerance (they endure branding with metal rods), intellect (they must memorize the fraternities entire history), sexual ability (they have to sleep with a girl of the older brother’s choosing), and all around endurance (early morning call times, military-grade exercises, etc). Fraternity hazing is, of course, illegal, so the group takes their torture underground, where rules don’t exist.

Fraternity hazing is, of course, illegal, so the group takes their torture underground, where rules don’t exist.

Now, why would anybody willingly endure not only the physical but verbal abuse from peers and older brothers (including Trevante Rhodes of “Moonlight”) who are supposed to be your life-long friends? Initially, Zurich’s longing for societal acceptance and his dad’s pride drove him to continue, but as the darker side of the fraternity begins to affect his personal life and gnaw at his conscious, Zurich finds himself stuck at a crossroads– should he remain silent and continue to endure unjustifiable violence or should he stand up against what he knows is wrong?

“Burning Sands” is Gerard McMurray’s directorial debut, although he is no stranger to gritty indie films. He served as an associate producer on the biographical drama “Fruitvale Station” and brings the same intensity to his project. With help from the film’s soundtrack, which includes tracks from J. Cole, Outkast, Future, and an original song from the film’s executive producer Common, McMurray creates a world full of raw emotion, tension-filled relationships, and an alternative coming of age journey that we don’t often see in film. So while it may be a tough watch, it is an unforgettable one.

‘Burning Sands’ is not rated. 96 minutes. Available to watch on Netflix this Friday, March 10th.