User reviews

This is one those movies that are hard to review , except for the fact that this is not a horror movie - at all. I guess I would call it a thriller, but that isn't quite right either. There's not much that can be said about the movie without spoilers so I won't.

It's actually pretty decent movie, well made. But at the same time it's a little boring and unfulfilling. I don't regret watching it, but it didn't leave me with any good feelings.

There are numerous movies out there that handle psychosis and paranoia and some of them handle it pretty well. Danika most certainly does not.

The only way you could defend the setup of the movie is by saying that we as viewers see the world through the eyes of the disturbed Danika. Well, after 30 minutes of that, it becomes pretty annoying and tedious.

At first I thought the movie was setup to make it hard to follow what was happening. But in the end there was nothing connecting to anything in it. Non of the plot-points that were introduced during the repetitive scenes had any relevance to the eventual end of the movie. And the result is a viewer who is left feeling like a fool.

I believe that it was the directors intend to let the audience be unaware of what was real and what wasn't. But the moments of unclarity were too obvious to achieve that effect.

This movie has not much to show for besides a woman and her delusions. It is devoid of plot, impressive special effects or memorable acting.

Not recommended.

Bad, acting, irritating neurotic and annoying main character, no redeeming features. This plot has no originality or purpose. It would make absolutely no difference whether the scenes were in any order, it would make the same amount of sense, being none whatsoever. The film is a meaningless void that will hopefully soon be forgotten. I find it had to believe that any positive comment is placed by a legitimate user. The high rating for this movie shows a problem with studios creating accounts to inflate the rating of movies. Even the lead is embarrassed about this string of seemingly random scenes and wanted nothing to do with the finished product. I want my money back.

Danika Merrick (Marisa Tomei) is a troubled suburban mom married to Randy (Craig Bierko). She is hounded by confusing visions and treated by her psychiatrist Dr. Evelyn Harris (Regina Hall). One vision of a bank robbery gets her fired from her bank job. She has hallucinations of a dead girl and haunted by a school bus.

It's a confusing jumble about a troubled mind. It's a jigsaw puzzle that is always expected to come together. For a better result, the movie needs to present a more standard life with bad hallucinations. It can't be that jagged and jumbled. That way, the final reveal of the reversal is more compelling. There is an interesting reveal with Evelyn but the others are not that compelling.

The story is simply confusing with silly jump-scream horror scares thrown in. If the camera would have just let Tomei take her own ride into acting dementia - without the side-shoe tricks of the children, the teacher, the Nannie, the neighbor (and his dog), etc... Could have been a much stronger movie if directed in a David Fincher "Fight Club" type of plot and reveal.

I would forget about the movie in its entirety however - if not for the hallucinogenic scenes that keep you guessing.

I like Marisa Tomei, and I wanted to like this film, but it didn't work for me. It kept me interested up to a point, but it played out like a dull, overlong episode of Ghost Whisperer, with a terrible ending.

To look at the premise, and definitely to start watching, there are familiar narrative strains in 'Danika'; I think of one title in particular that came out just a few years before this one. That doesn't mean that another rendition can't be worthy - and if nothing else is true, the occurrences the protagonist experiences are distinctly horrifying, and increasingly so. Joshua Leibner's screenplay does a fine job of maintaining a strong air of mystery about the narrative, and conjuring major uncertainty about what is real or not. Just as much to the point, there's unmistakable complexity in the lead role that Marisa Tomei navigates with all the great skill we know she possesses; between the visions and the increasingly erratic behavior, the picture comes off foremost as a thriller, but with a considerable sense too of psychological horror. This may not be wholly perfect, but 'Danika' is duly engaging and compelling, and pretty solid.

All the blood, gore, stunts, and effects that go into realizing the more jarring moments are very well executed, helping the incidents to feel as real as they could be for the audience. It helps that so capable a cast is assembled; led by Tomei, everyone demonstrates fine nuance, range, and personality to bring the story to life. Able direction and sequencing work to amplify all the vitality there is in the screenplay, with varied scene writing focused around the protagonist's seemingly broken sense of reality. All the contributions of those behind the scenes are swell.

All this is well and good. However, there does come a point where the story makes a sea change, and the last stretch of the picture is straightforward drama. It's very well done, and fairly impactful, with heartbreaking but important and commendable themes spotlighted in the last scene especially. Only - these last minutes are a major break from the sensibilities that 'Danika' had been fostering all along, and so it feels like a curveball. The plot is complete and coherent, and ultimately very worthwhile, even as a couple scenes may feel a tad maudlin. Above all, I just wish the writing were slightly more even and consistent one way or another, especially in tone, for that would have made all the difference.

When all is said and done I do quite like this. I think every constituent part stands fairly tall, and it's reasonably engrossing. It just doesn't necessarily stand out compared to other movies of a similar broad thrust Ultimately it's more a drama/thriller with tinges of horror on the edges, and with that in mind - especially for fans of Tomei or others involved, this is a decent way to spend 80 minutes.

I saw trailer for this movie and looked really great.

The plot: When devoted wife and mother, Danika Merrick, begins experiencing a series of terrifying delusions, she wonders whether she is actually having visions of future events or she is slowly slipping into.

It started of really well as the movie went, all things she knew was going to happen and she dose nothing to stop and this movie also some of kinda of twist,

which I do not understand but I didn't really care if I understood or not, as was really disappointing in this movie

I going to give this movie 4 out of 10 worth watching a least once

This is one of those movies that you stumble upon while streaming surfing and see Marisa Tomei, and if you love Marisa Tomei - as I do - you decide you'll give it a chance. Then as you continue to watch and see Tomei's great performance and a number of psychologically provocative scenes you begin to wonder "Wow.. this movie is great.. How come I've never heard of it."

And so .. yes.. watching this movie is like watching a train wreck.. and as the viewer desperately tries to sort out what's real and what's not real you can't help but want to see this movie to the end for the "reveal" that explains it all.

Unfortunately, the "reveal" was a huge let down. I was super enjoying the movie up to that point.. but then the bottom dropped out. And then at that point I now understood how this movie got relegated to the straight-to-video realm.

Sadly, this is the kind of movie that one could argue is "critic-proof" because nothing "needs" to make sense and large plot holes can be "forgiven" because none of it has to make sense in a fundamentally crazy mind. Very convenient.. right?

I was ready to give the movie is "7" or "8" but downgraded it wholly because of the ending.

Movie has some atmosphere and some elements like those of "Sixth Sense" but ultimately fails to deliver.. something goes wrong in the last part of the execution and the movie loses all coherence and logic..

You could sum it by saying bunch of weird stuff happens and in the last 10 minutes you find out why that weird stuff supposedly happens (that of a fractured mind they hint at.. however given the way the movie played I don't think of it as a fractured mind.. I thought of it as supernatural) Anyway.. I would suggest if you're bored give it a watch.. it's better than some Hollywood productions but this is not shear movie making excellence..

Marisa Tomei is remarkable as a woman in helpless free fall with a soul shattered beyond repair. But "Danika" is so stiflingly depressing and gutting, particularly if you are a parent, it makes this well-made film nearly impossible to recommend.