Review by jtindahouse

I'm always cautious when I see horror based around children. In my experience it is either a very safe movie, or a very annoying experience. 'The Chalk Line' had me thinking it was going to be both of those things in the early going. But thankfully by the end of the film I was having a really good time.

The film makes you think it is going to be one thing and then cleverly becomes something else entirely. There's good and bad with that. The good is the relief at what it becomes and how much you ultimately enjoy it. The bad is that when you think it's something else initially you find yourself kind of hating it, and it can be hard to come back from that sometimes.

I recently reviewed a film where I described it as starting great and then getting worse and worse the longer it went on. 'The Chalk Line' is almost the complete opposite of that. The longer it goes the better it becomes. So if you are not having a great time with it initially, push through. You might just find yourself watching a very good film half an hour later. 7/10.