Number one... (I just went, so I'm kinda proud) No, let me start again. Number one... ***PLEASE be careful reading about this film beforehand because it is EASILY SPOILED***
With just about any kind of Horror / Slasher film where you have a group of people, what almost ALWAYS kills it is the STUPID acting. However, right from the beginning, I immediately noticed that the acting was actually quite good and was surprisingly believable, realistic, and restrained. Which is NOT usually the case. Especially when you have the usual stereotypes within these groups. But, I can say that I was genuinely quite impressed that even the more annoying characters (when I say that, I mean the characters who are supposed to be annoying) did not overdo it. The 'Goth' girl didn't go overboard with her attitude and the OCD chick could have EASILY overdone it and just come across like every other similar caricature that is usually depicted in films. But, everyone honestly presented their characters in a believable way that DIDN'T take you right out of the movie like so many do. So, that was a pleasant surprise.
Okay, you have to realize that they are not re-inventing the Horror wheel here (just thought of that myself : ) YES, this story has been done many, MANY times. BUT... and it is a BIG BUT like Mariah Carey's... to me personally, all that matters in a film is that no matter WHAT the hell it is about or whatever Genre it is or even if we have seen the same story hundreds of times... The ONLY thing (to me anyway) that matters is this... IS IT DONE WELL? That's it. Simple, really. And yes, I feel that although this is clearly not even CLOSE to being the scariest or most inventive Horror film around, I fully enjoyed it and I thought that it was put together very well.
I think that people forget sometimes when they see a film like this (and subsequently come here and p*ss all over it, pretentiously proclaiming the movie to be crap) they forget that sometimes movies can just be simple, good, effective stories. And that is just as true with Horror films as it is with a nice story about a family or even a horse (well... I HAVE to draw the line somewhere...) or whatever. Sometimes it is just a good, tight, well directed, well acted, well put together film. And that is the case here. NO... it is no 'EXORCIST' or 'NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD' or even one of my very favourites, 'SESSION 9', but it is a good, entertaining film for those who appreciate simple Genre films that just do what they are supposed to do.
For what it's worth, I fully agree with the reviewer StaySweetMisery from Australia in what they said. Including also feeling that the tacked on 2 minutes at the end could have been done like WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY better. At first, when that final scene kind of surprisingly came back on right when you thought that the movie was over, I thought, ahhhh... they are gonna add a nice little tie-in here with something from before (and I have NUMEROUS ideas as to what they COULD have done, and not to give anything away, but one of them just MIGHT have something to do with a little doll...:) Anyway, it seemed that they just kind of threw that last little bit away, instead of coming up with something really sharp that would have given the ending more of a nice 'punch'
But, even so... I fully enjoyed this effective, atmospheric and moody little film. And, I think that IF you don't expect too much, and you can appreciate it for what it is, there is a good chance that you just might like it somewhat...
With just about any kind of Horror / Slasher film where you have a group of people, what almost ALWAYS kills it is the STUPID acting. However, right from the beginning, I immediately noticed that the acting was actually quite good and was surprisingly believable, realistic, and restrained. Which is NOT usually the case. Especially when you have the usual stereotypes within these groups. But, I can say that I was genuinely quite impressed that even the more annoying characters (when I say that, I mean the characters who are supposed to be annoying) did not overdo it. The 'Goth' girl didn't go overboard with her attitude and the OCD chick could have EASILY overdone it and just come across like every other similar caricature that is usually depicted in films. But, everyone honestly presented their characters in a believable way that DIDN'T take you right out of the movie like so many do. So, that was a pleasant surprise.
Okay, you have to realize that they are not re-inventing the Horror wheel here (just thought of that myself : ) YES, this story has been done many, MANY times. BUT... and it is a BIG BUT like Mariah Carey's... to me personally, all that matters in a film is that no matter WHAT the hell it is about or whatever Genre it is or even if we have seen the same story hundreds of times... The ONLY thing (to me anyway) that matters is this... IS IT DONE WELL? That's it. Simple, really. And yes, I feel that although this is clearly not even CLOSE to being the scariest or most inventive Horror film around, I fully enjoyed it and I thought that it was put together very well.
I think that people forget sometimes when they see a film like this (and subsequently come here and p*ss all over it, pretentiously proclaiming the movie to be crap) they forget that sometimes movies can just be simple, good, effective stories. And that is just as true with Horror films as it is with a nice story about a family or even a horse (well... I HAVE to draw the line somewhere...) or whatever. Sometimes it is just a good, tight, well directed, well acted, well put together film. And that is the case here. NO... it is no 'EXORCIST' or 'NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD' or even one of my very favourites, 'SESSION 9', but it is a good, entertaining film for those who appreciate simple Genre films that just do what they are supposed to do.
For what it's worth, I fully agree with the reviewer StaySweetMisery from Australia in what they said. Including also feeling that the tacked on 2 minutes at the end could have been done like WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY better. At first, when that final scene kind of surprisingly came back on right when you thought that the movie was over, I thought, ahhhh... they are gonna add a nice little tie-in here with something from before (and I have NUMEROUS ideas as to what they COULD have done, and not to give anything away, but one of them just MIGHT have something to do with a little doll...:) Anyway, it seemed that they just kind of threw that last little bit away, instead of coming up with something really sharp that would have given the ending more of a nice 'punch'
But, even so... I fully enjoyed this effective, atmospheric and moody little film. And, I think that IF you don't expect too much, and you can appreciate it for what it is, there is a good chance that you just might like it somewhat...