The photographer Bryn (Teri Polo) and the astronomer Paul Shaw (David Rees Snell) moves to a small, but cozy one bedroom apartment in the Beacon Apartments in Texas to rebuild their lives. Three years ago, in Halloween, Bryn neglected attention to their son Danny that disappeared, apparently drown in a lake nearby a carnival. Bryn tried to commit suicide and Paul sacrificed his career to support her. In the relocation, the couple is helped by Bryn's sister Christina Wade (Marnette Patterson) that befriends the next door neighbor Will "Ty" Tyler (Nick Sowell). Paul finds a job in the local university and shares his office with the eccentric anthropologist Simon Valencia (Jonny Cruz). Along the days, Bryn has visions and nightmares with a ghostly boy and she decides to investigate how he died and seeks out his father James Nash (Kevin Scott Keating). Meanwhile Paul helps the decadent actress Vanessa Carver (Elaine Hendrix) but does not tell details to his wife. When Bryn discovers that James is also dead, she realizes that she had contacted ghosts in the building and tells Professor Simon, trying to find how to communicate with her diseased son. However, after his research, Simon finds the truth about the Beacon Apartments.
"The Beacon" is a well-constructed horror movie with a great story that recalled me the scary "The Sentinel" (1977). The excellent Teri Polo shines in the dramatic role of a grieving suicidal mother with guilty complex. This is the type of feature based on good direction, screenplay and performances, and the make-up and special effects are effective and used only when necessary. The plot point is totally unexpected, the story is very well resolved and the melancholic music score is wonderful. In the end, the refreshing "The Beacon" was a great surprise that startles and one of the best horror movies that I have seen this year. My vote is eight.
Title (Brazil): "Visões" ("Visions")
