The story follows Amanda, a psychiatrist, moving into a new house with her husband. However, the house is not normal; she feels something eerie stirring whenever she hears screams in the middle of the night. It seems there are ghosts lurking, but she is the only one who can hear them. Is she crazy? Is she not? The film dribbles with this question, leading to highly unexpected territory throughout.
At first, it was difficult to embrace some of ideas that I could tell could be better captured with a larger budget, especially regarding the visual effects. The dialogue often felt unrealistic and didn't, at least with the supporting characters, convey realism with its characters. The script could have benefited from more reliance on the actors' understanding of their characters. The main actress, Jen Ayer Drake, who plays Amanda, delivers a performance that feels relatively genuine.
Despite the criticism regarding some choices and lost opportunities, what keeps the film engaging throughout its runtime is the unexpected twists and turns all thanks to the many choices in the cutting of the film. There is enough to be seen, and enough to be unseen, leaving much to the imagination. This independent horror film manages to maintain creativity within its ambitious concept. It offers an intriguing take on a ghost story that isn't necessarily a ghost story.
I was particularly captured by Amanda's first client, who is convinced of her own truth, which ultimately turns out to be nothing more than a mere fantasy. This blurring of reality and fiction propels the story forward.
The low budget contributed to unique storytelling techniques through its sound and camerawork, evoking feelings of mysticism - like Amanada feeling too hot in one room while struggling to breathe in another, hinting at drowning. Amanda senses the tragedy that occurred in the house, motivating her to uncover the truth.
The question of whether Amanada truly sees these things or is simply crazy was incredibly engaging, prompting me to wonder if the entire narrative was a lie. That level of suspension of disbelief truly worked in my opinion.
However, I found the ending to be somewhat cliched. I expected the film to stick to its psychological roots, as I believe that approach is more effective in horror than another twist. It left both the supernatural and psychological elements up in the air. Perhaps another rewatch would help if I missed any of the minor details that foreshadow the ending.
While the film is far from perfect, it presents some very unique ways of telling a ghost story, along with something more. For that reason, I highly recommend this film to anyone looking for something interesting that combines various well-known elements in the horror genre. It held some very unique ways in telling a ghost story but something more.
