tom-15844

The film starts fairly strong and then grinds to a halt. There was a point, a sort of twist among twists, where I thought it was over, but unbelievably there was still an hour to go. Maybe that was "the bit", that it piled twist upon twist, but seriously, rule of three. I get that a pastiche of a spy thriller is going to employ that sort of trick, but when it's your only move you should do the audience a favour and end the film a lot earlier.

Sam Rockwell does fairly well in the first half, but the lead actress (Bryce Dallas Howard) is seriously out of her depth. I was tuning out by the end, a tacked-on emotional side story and yet more twists bloated the film to nearly two and a half hours. It's just not worth it.

I went into this one expecting a Disney-Pixar type adventure, but there's a real gulf in class, one that is hard to put your finger on. It's a passable imitation, but very much the budget version.

The plot and writing are weak- not in a "kids' movie, what did you expect" way, it just doesn't hang together well. Devices are introduced on the spot, and just as soon cast aside.

The overall arc of the story and the major beats are very predictable, down to the ending/"moral" which is exactly what you expect it will be, but played straight and without insight- a discussion of the "problem of evil" might have been out of place in a kid's movie, but you'd expect some evidence of thought by the writers. They painted themselves into a corner with a very high concept, and took the easy "middle road" out.

The characters themselves are curiously unappealing- the designs lack charm and the accents, except for maybe the cat, are barely even attempted.

Some of the visual humour works well, and it will probably occupy very young kids, but ages 10 and up will likely be frustrated.

For fans of being trapped in a phone booth with a screaming idiot and a box of fireworks. Don't make my mistake- as soon as the first blaring noise and flashing visuals appear, turn off. It won't get better.

From the start, it's awkwardly marrying genuinely sinister elements with aggravating camp, and the truly obtrusive strobing gore is pretty much the theme of this film. I criticised films such as the latest Grudge for being a vehicle for screaming ghosts, but it had the decency to work them into the scene and plot. This disaster simply flashes them at you, over and over, out of nowhere, complete with nails on chalkboard sound.

It's not just a dreadful movie, it's physically unpleasant to see and hear. Do not, under any circumstances, give this screeching headache a chance.