I was surprised by how decent this was. But then, Eduardo Sanches directed, and if you liked his first film, The Blair Witch Project, then you'll appreciate the realistic, spooky bent he brings to the film.
The sense of dread throughout the film was pervasive and lasted through to the end. The actress, who is apparently new to the scene, did a fine job. I liked that she looked like someone you might be friends with from work or the gym. Normal, flawed, a little bit messy. She may have even been a little too real at times, which pulled you into the story more - she was believable in a way that made you think it could be you hearing the noises...
Some of the scenes are pretty graphic, including full-on nudity and sex, but it never felt gratuitous, and melded into the storyline. The violence feels real also. Sounds real, too, which was unsettling. I hate it when I'm watching a movie and when someone plunges a knife into someone else, you hear a metal-on-metal sound, but I realize it's kinda worse when the sound effect mimics what a sharp knife entering the back of the head probably sounds like. Pop, slurp.
I could've done without the sister. Annoying as hell, and not necessarily needed.
I was pulled along by the story, trying to figure out why lovely Molly behaved the way she did, and wondering what were actual clues and what noises and people and visual effects were meant to distract. It wasn't until close to the end that the story began to feel like it was unraveling, and loose ends were going to remain just that. Even so, I wasn't tempted to push pause or skip it - I had to know how it ended.
Well, the ending wasn't what I expected. It felt somewhat unfinished. And there was some weirdness as well that made no sense at all. I would argue that it leaves things wide open for a Part II. I wouldn't be opposed to that.
Being a horror movie fanatic, afficianado-wannabe, I've seen my share of spook stories. This one held its own with the likes of other "is she possessed or crazy or on drugs?" movies, and then some.
Three and a half stars out of four. Mostly because it's rare to find an atmospheric, somewhat unique horror movie these days.
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