The Marsh

A Halloween movie--not terrible if you actually watch it on that Holiday, with a few drinks, as you do other things.

Not an amazing or terribly original film. Smooth and seamless special FX.

Forrest Whitaker does a very fine job...with what he is given screenplay-(and direction)wise.

Just don't expect to be amazed by the plot and execution.

No one who worked on this project should be shattered if some viewers notice that it was done for the money.

Nothing wrong with that.

Entertainment.

OK, now here is a ghost story that came way under my radar and turns out to be a superior ghost story with a couple of twists. A lady children's book author is plagued with nightmares of a little girl disappearing in a swamp and images of an old house. When viewing a television story, she notices the house in her nightmare and the surrounding area, specifically a marsh where she keeps seeing and following this little girl. She tracks down the property and moves into the house, in a small remote area close to a little town. After installing a door she finds in the cellar, strange things begin to happen and what were her nightmares are now becoming too real. Yes, the house and the marsh hold deep secrets in the town and the house, and she enlists the help of a local paranormal consultant played very well by Forest Whitaker. He moves into her house with his equipment and quickly realizes the supernatural is at work. This movie succeeds on every level with excellent performances, and a very tight story that keeps you guessing until the final reveal. Are her nightmares really lost memories of a past she has forgotten, and if she is the little girl ghost then how is that possible? All the questions are answered, and I had a real ball with this one. Highly recommended.

THE MARSH is an absolutely typical ghost story about a lonely woman moving into a lonely house that turns out to be haunted by...yada yada. The end result is that it plays out exactly as you'd expect, featuring the few unlucky actors to be caught up in this mess finding themselves at the mercy of various CGI-augmented spirits whose appearance has been crafted in the most ordinary way.

The script is poor and the direction worse, with none of the creative people involved failing to make anything of the premise. It says much that my memory of the film is already fading, at a rapid pace, a mere 24 hours after I watched it. Gabrielle Anwar (THE TUDORS) fails to bring life to a rather stiff and uninteresting lead character and seems to be trying to get her American accent right rather than delivering a decent performance. Forest Whitaker (PHONE BOOTH) appears slightly befuddled and is probably wondering what he's doing caught up in this nonsense.

Because this is nonsense, I'll make no bones about it. Every haunted house cliché in the book is played out, from the restless ghost of a kid (a little blonde girl, of course) to the vengeful spirit with the scary eyes. The jump scenes are predictable as is the rest of the plot and the effects are poor, taking you out of the movie every time they pop up. A dismal effort, this.

"The Marsh" works as a typical, haunted house story. There are those that have criticised it, but really, what did you expect? Starring Gabrielle Anwar. WHO? Oh, that pretty french girl who was in that submarine movie. Right. It's a B-movie, people! So don't expect too much and you may be pleasantly surprised. Forest Whitaker, pre-King of Scotland, provides a shot of star value and basically holds the movie together. The special effects are good and the best thing about "The Marsh" is that's so pretty! The house is pretty, the female lead is pretty, hell, even the ghost is pretty! Its like a Normal Rockwell painting that's been messed with. Quite cool, just check your brain at the door and you'll be fine. :)

Claire Holloway (Gabrielle Anwar) is an author who is haunted by recurring nightmares about a house, a little girl, and THE MARSH. Claire actually locates the house from her dreams, and moves into it!

How could this possibly be a bad idea?

THE MARSH is a supernatural mystery-thriller that might remind you of POLTERGEIST or THE RING in spots. Forest Whitaker plays a helpful paranormal investigator. Both he and Ms. Anwar have an authentic quality that makes the spookiness more believable.

Overall, a pretty good ghost story...