There's something to be said about how bad a film is, when the first ten minutes pass and you're wondering more about how it got made than the plot itself.
The acting is bizarre. It reminds me of drama classes in high school, where a prompt to "look happy" means smiling maniacally whilst staring at a single point in the distance like a crazy person. Or the instruction to be the "stoner chick" ends up like the only knowledge the actress has of drugs is a "Just Say No!" education commercial.
An early scene sets the tone. A curious girl and some guy (...boyfriend? I honestly have no idea) wander into an abandoned, haunted house. The script has the girl stating at least 5 times how weird the place is, even though it actually doesn't resemble anything other than an old house with cobwebs. Seriously, it's not even dark in there.
Then we're introduced to a couple who have moved to the area following a "tragic event". Fair enough, but when we see the wife in the bathroom looking upset, music suddenly roars into life, completely obliterating the mood. Is it background music? Is it a CD the wife put on? Where the hell did it come from? And WHY IS IT SO LOUD?!
Still, I'm only fourteen minutes in.
The next scene shows the wife making breakfast and the husband doing his best not to act in any kind of realistic way, by stating that he can't share breakfast as he's late for work, but then weirdly taking absolutely ages to drink a glass of OJ and take two bites of toast. Sad wife (I think, she's got that weird look in her eyes again - and not because of her acting) looks at a photo of her daughter (ah, so that's the tragic event) and then runs out of the house, and then just appears in the middle of a country road with photo in hand. But this isn't lost time, or a fugue state. She's just...walking there.
I've got another hour and a quarter of this. Can't wait.
