Herança Paranormal

TIM DALY stars as a skeptical lawyer with no belief in the supernatural who moves into the house of a deceased aunt when his marriage breaks up. He soon believes that he's not alone in the creepy mansion and begins to doubt his sanity after some encounters of a ghostly kind that might just be happening in his head.

Before he knows it, he's getting assistance from a woman psychic (ZOE SALDANA) who tells him the house holds a grim secret. Gradually, we discover that the key to the haunting lies in his past, when he was subjected to harsh treatment at the age of five from a mother whose punishment makes "Mommie Dearest" look like "Snow White." So far, so good.

There are some nice shivery moments but we keep hoping for our hero to see the light and discover just what is going on. It takes a little too long to reach that conclusion and when it does, the ending is an unsatisfying letdown that leaves you jolted just as the end credits begin to unfold. That's it? Yes, an ambiguous and terribly disappointing and empty stone wall conclusion that provides more questions than answers.

Most viewers will feel cheated by the ending, after a fairly good case of goose pimples from a low key, rather tepid ghost story. In the central role of the lawyer, Tim Daly proves almost as adept at drama as he was in comedy roles. TOM ARNOLD, as a sympathetic colleague, has little to do but bark his lines in snappy fashion.

I have seen hundreds of horror movies. There isn't much in the genre that shocks me anymore. New releases (whether original or remakes of classics) hit the theaters on a regular basis, all with variations of the standard "Scariest film of the year!" review. In my opinion almost all have be mediocre at best, failing to live up to the hype that preceded them. Sadly, it has been decades since a horror film caused me to jump and scream at various times. I'm thrilled to report that "The Skeptic" was able to do just that, which means I'm recommending it as a must-see for all lovers of "haunted house" films who thought they'd seen it all before.

The title character is a lawyer, Brian Becket (brilliantly played by Tim Daly). Becket is someone you'll love to hate, someone you can't wait to see get "his comeuppance". He is self-assured, sarcastic, arrogant, insensitive, emotionally frigid and (of course) skeptical of everything. He will not give credence to beliefs that can't be backed up with indisputable facts. Upon moving into the home of a recently deceased aunt he begins to experience strange phenomena that he, at first, believes are hallucinations brought on by sleep deprivation and high stress. As the film unfolds, Becket learns shocking truths about his aunt's house and his own past. Through the course of the film he slowly begins to change...and the proverbial shoe moves to the other foot. He is now the one who must successfully explain the unexplainable to skeptics...and he frustratingly cannot win a single argument because there are rational explanations for everything. About half-way through the film you'll stop hating Becket and not only start liking him, but begin empathizing with him and eventually feel sorry for him.

This film has everything you could possibly want in a "haunted house" film: an eerie-looking mansion filled with bizarre antiques, creaky floors and dark corners, a mysterious locked closet, ghostly images that will truly come out of nowhere, etc. What this film does not have is a satisfying ending. To those who enjoy psychoanalyzing films for hidden meanings, the ending will be poignant and acceptable. To others, the ending will be an abrupt disappointment and can be summed up this way: "That's it?!?

THE BOTTOM LINE: On a scale of 1-10, it is a very strong 8. I highly recommend "The Skeptic" to all horror/thriller buffs who are looking for a great "haunted house" story. If you are a fan of blood and gore, this film won't deliver. If you prefer movies with endings that neatly tie off all their loose ends, this film won't deliver either. HOWEVER...if you enjoy films filled with riveting suspense that slowly builds, throwing unexpected shockers at you along the way, then you will really enjoy this film.

I really liked this film. Like my title says it was clever and scary, maybe even a little too much in places. At one point, I must admit, I had my hands in front of my eyes.

A 30 something lawyer moves into his aunts large house after her death. He soon experiences signs that the house may be haunted, but is it haunted or is it all in his head? Either way it makes for a scary movie, and that is what's clever about this film. It leaves you with questions. Good questions, not holes in the script, but intelligent thought provoking stuff. OK maybe that's going a bit far, it's not Freud or anything but it is good solid cinema. Good acting and an evenly paced well executed script. Nice to see Tom Arnold too.

When the forty year old skeptical lawyer Bryan Becket (Timothy Daly) receives a phone call late night, he is informed that his distant aunt had just died and he can only think in the inheritance of her manor. Becket decides to leave his wife Robin Becket (Andrea Roth) and his son to live in the house while selling it and give an opportunity to Robin to rethink their relationship. However his partner Sully (Tom Arnold) advises him that his aunt had a will and the house would belong to the institute of technology managed by Dr. Warren Koven (Bruce Altman) that research sleeping disorders. Bryan visits Dr. Koven and meets his psychic patient Cassie (Zoe Saldanha). Sooner Bryan is haunted by whispers and voices and discovers that the unknown is more frightening than any reality.

"The Skeptic" is a scary ghost story of haunted house that startles the viewer with creepy scenes. The beginning and development of the plot are excellent and Tim Daly performs a skeptical lawyer that feels lost when faces a paranormal activity in his aunt's house and is haunted by a mystery of his forgotten past. Unfortunately the conclusion is awful and spoils the story, giving the disappointing sensation that the budget had ended and the producer needed to finish the film anyway without any care to the characters or situation. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Herança Paranormal" ("Paranormal Inheritage")

Honestly I was really enjoying this, but I feel like it ended too abruptly/prematurely right when we should've gotten a more intense and emotional "fight scene" I guess you could say. Honestly even another 10-20 minutes could've really helped make the ending more enjoyable and satisfying. I was also hoping we would see more of Cassie and that she would play a role in the ending of the movie. I would probably have rated this a bit higher if it wasn't for the ending because I feel like it had interesting characters and dynamics, as well as good performances from all of the cast. If you're on the fence about watching this, I would say do it since it was pretty enjoyable for the most part!