Surprisingly little has been written about this quirky little horror film, which I watched last night. It's intriguing on a number of levels: when it's set and where it's set for that matter I found to be bit ambiguous but oddly enough that wasn't to the film's detriment.
Because of the lack of information surrounding it, I presumed it would be some low-budget independent affair but The Shadow Within is anything but. The cinematography is wonderful and the town setting gloriously picturesque. The story tells of a nine-year-old boy who lives with his widowed mother. The youngster, Maurice Dumont - it has to be said, a remarkable performance by Laurence Belcher effortlessly out-classing the adult stars of the film - has a unique gift. Well, not exactly unique in movie terms - Haley Joel Osment had it in The Sixth Sense. But Maurice's gift is slightly more specific in that he is able to communicate with the spirits of his deceased school chums - many of whom have been killed by the plague wiping out the village's young.
The bereaved mothers of the village realise Maurice has a gift and want to harness that power so they can contact their lost loved ones. But Maurice and his mother have also suffered terrible losses and now she realises she could turn to her son's gift to be reunited with someone she has been obsessing over. All at a cost to young Maurice who has endured a cold loveless childhood at the hands of his grieving mother. Plot-wise I'll leave it at that. Suffice to say this is definitely worth checking out. It looks sumptuous, there are some good creepy effects (one particular use of CGI to show the spirits shadowing the living is particularly effective) and as I said the youngster's doomed, haunted performance is flawless.
