Wait Till Helen Comes

The stage curtains open ...

Based on a popular 1986 YA novel, this supernatural thriller was released 30 years later. I'd never heard of either the book or the film before today, but I was thumbing through some streaming options and found this one out there. I decided to give it a watch. I'm always up for a good, dark, mystery thriller - especially if there is a ghost involved. I have seen a few good ones, so I was hoping that this would surprise me and turn out to be a hidden gem.

Set in 1982, a family moves from Baltimore to a small, secluded town where all the kids attend one school. They move into an old church that has been converted into a house - and nearby, there is a cemetary and the ruins of another house which burned down over 200 years prior. We follow the story of Molly, the troubled teen that hates her new house and resents the fact that she is responsible for watching out for her younger sister, Heather. However, when Molly begins to believe that Heather is speaking to another young girl who is a ghost from the graveyard, and who has the same intials as Heather (H. E. H.) - she must put aside her frustrations and save her sister from a terrible fate.

Well, this wasn't a hidden gem, but it wasn't bad. To be honest, this is a rather, plain and average thriller. Color by numbers and formulaic. All the usual tropes are here: a teen girl who nobody believes or listens to, an old man who knows a thing or two about the dead, a visit to the library to uncover some pertinent history, and an ending complete with a vision of what happened leading to a life or death situation. There is absolutely nothing new or shocking, or even frightening here.

The film was shot very well though. The camera work and cinematography were excellent. The movie captures and holds an unsettling feeling from start to finish, and the pacing is never lagging. The story was well told and developed, and the acting was pretty good. This is the perfect ghost story for a young teen. Nothing too graphic or demonic. And for that demographic, I would recommend this film. But, for me personally, it was just "okay" - nothing special.

Molly (Sophie Nélisse) loathes moving away from her late father's resting place in Baltimore. Her mother (Maria Bello) and writer stepfather Dave (Callum Keith Rennie) are taking her, brother Michael and troubled stepsister Heather (Isabelle Nélisse) to an isolated home in a small town. She starts to suspect Heather is falling under the influence of a spirit of a dead girl.

This is a smaller horror. It's good to some extend. Maria Bello is the big name but she's in the smaller mom role. The apparition is unnecessary and probably detracts from the horror. They should play more with whether Molly should be believed or not. Dave could have been a threatening presence that the audience could suspect some abuse. The dreamscape is not nightmarish enough. The ghost reveal should come later in the movie. Otherwise, it's a functional isolate haunted place horror. The kids are good although the ending is lackluster.

Somewhere in the country, a long-haired girl walks into a body of water. We do not see her face and assume she's the story's main character. That would be moody teenager Sophie Nelisse (as Molly). True, she could also be a 100-year-old ghost with the world's first hair curling iron. Apparently, the ghostly girl appears to get you interested in this story, and she serves as an attention grabber. The story shifts to 1982 Baltimore, Maryland, where our main family is moving. The children are the ones to watch. They are the alluring Ms. Nelisse, her little brother Liam Dickinson (as Michael) and their spooky little step-sister Isabelle Nelisse (as Heather). The family moves into a creepy-looking old church located next to a graveyard...

When you see the family's darkly Gothic new home, you know weird stuff is going to happen. And, from the introduction of spooky little Isabelle Nelisse (the girls are real-life sisters), you know who is ripe for possession. The little girl immediately walks and acts like a ghost. In case you think she might be normal, we see her wander out in the woods and pick up a butterfly with her bare hand...

Butterflies are normally shy around people...

They don't like to be petted...

This story is based on the novel "Wait Till Helen Comes" by Mary Downing Hahn, which was undoubtedly better. The author appears on screen, as a librarian. Her basic tale parallels most ghost stories, and it is nicely plotted. The relationships formed by a "step-family" add interest, but the film adaptation certainly doesn't make the most of them. Young Dickinson is most convincing as the initially skeptical little brother and it's nice to hear Nat King Cole's "Ramblin' Rose" is still getting airplay after all these years. Director Dominic James and his crew make the most of an atmospheric setting, which is nicely photographed by Rene Ohashi. It and the story take no time to grow and develop, however. Ghost stories should be much less direct.

**** Little Girl's Secret (11/12/2016) Dominic James ~ Sophie Nelisse, Liam Dickinson, Isabelle Nelisse, Maria Bello

Money has to be the primary motive for making this: 1. The so-overused storyline of family (typically at-odds young female with younger brother) and in this case another (usually female) young one added to be the ghost recipient. 2. Also redundant: Family moves to rural house that (guess what?), not only looks haunted, but is haunted by (guess what?) deceased (and tragically of course) former family member (s). 3. Cheap effects and scenes starting with the so cheaply boring opening scenes of family in car driving on road. Help! Followed by cheap creepy sound effects; closing doors; moving furniture; lights flash; papers fly - you know the script. Oh, and cheap ghostly image. 4. Storyline continues to be non-creative (dare I say ripoff) of parents blaming older daughter for younger daughters behavior and so ends up doing research on house history at (guess where?) local library where we get to see (guess what?) old photos and news clips. 5. Ends predictably so if you want to ff you'll miss nothing. 6. No subtitles; poor enunciation; poor audio levels.

I'm sorry. I watched this movie just getting into watching horror movies, and I thought this would be good. I almost fell asleep while watching this. Sure there's a little bit of storyline, but absolutely no violence or scariness. When there was what sounded like a jumpscare, I was excited only for it to be Molly's dad. This movie felt so long. There was like nothing interesting but the one flashback scene towards the end. I was very disappointed in this film. The characters weren't even good. I really had hopes in this movie from the trailer, but it lied. It was absolutely nothing like the trailer. 2/10.