Jessabelle

It's tough to judge or rate this. Because the essence was much better than what I was expecting. Even if you can see things coming (no pun intended), especially if you read reviews who give away certain things or you just have seen enough horror movies to know some things, you'll still be entertained by this.

And I did like where it went at the end (literally and metaphorically speaking). You could call it a nice twist, though many things could have been prevented if someone would have spoken out. The alternate or rather extended ending does not do anything more than the original did. Ending on the note the movie does right now is the best way to go out.

After watching the trailer for this film, I must say I had really high hopes. As a devout Horror fan with a declared preference towards ghost stories and hauntings, I had looked forward to seeing another usual film of the genre, mediocre yet frightening and fun to watch.

While Jessabelle is light-years away from competing with the sub- genres best like The Grudge or Dead Silence, it completes the task it unofficially took upon itself, as it obviously had no intentions of being profound or in any way great. Sarah Snook, while definitely not painful to look at to say the least, is far more than your usual Horror Eye-Candy made famous in classic Slashers. Trust me, this professional knows a hell of a lot more than screaming convincingly and looking fine in a bathing suite. This was my first encounter with her, and I must say she just might be the best thing about Jessabelle. Apparently she's been making quite a name for herself since 2012, and I can definitely see why. Even though her character is stuck in a wheel-chair, the empathy towards its desperation and helplessness is greatly created by Snook's acting skills.

As for the story, it suffers from one of the known banes of Horror - a mediocre plot twist leading to an anticlimactic ending, after a finely made build-up. At least there is a plot twist, true, as Horror films are highly upgraded by these in my opinion, but the one in Jessabelle simply feels unfulfilled. I find it difficult putting my finger on what should have been better about it, I just know it didn't create the sensation we expect from such twists. I believe that was the main reason for the ending being slightly wanting.

All in all, I found Jessabelle to be quite average, meaning anyone who doesn't expect to have their mind blown and being swept off their feet by a masterpiece could enjoy it quite a bit, as I did. Snook's acting and the sufficiently smart plot make it even slightly above average. As always, I would recommend that you ignore my humble opinion, watch it and judge for yourselves. If you ask me - as far as this one is concerned, it's definitely worth it.

When I first saw the trailer for this film, I thought to myself; "Wow, now that seems like it could be a tense film, she's stuck in a wheel chair the whole time". I stand by that comment; any horror film with the main character being terrorized or haunted and they are stuck, immobile, will lead to greater stakes. That individual can't run away, they can't really hide, they're stuck. I was game to see this flick.

Jessabelle tells the tale of a young beautiful woman who has her dreams cut short by an accident, which leaves her unable to walk. Confined to a wheel chair, she calls her absentee father to come and pick her up. She moves in with him and finds these old VHS tapes around the house with messages from her mother, whose dead, about Jessabelle's fate. You guessed it, her fate isn't looking to good. Her mother see's death, torture and ghosts in poor Jessabelle's future and her future lurks behind every corner.

Okay, so now we have a main character, physically confined to her chair. The threat isn't really tangible, it's a ghost, so that can come out of nowhere. You're not safe in any room, any corner, or under any sheets. Great, this is good news, the tension will come....the tension will come....I'm sure the tension will eventually come....the tension never came.

Jessabelle disappoints me so much in that area. Not once did I ever really fear for her character. Sure things get a little creepy, but those scare tactics are clichéd and tired out. Even the added bonus of our disabled character, couldn't save the film from that. This film only works, barely, due to the performance from Sarah Snook. Snook was nominated in last years Mofo Film Awards for her role in Predestination. She failed to win, but did indeed turn some heads. She does so again, for me at least, with her honest performance here. She's beautiful, but that doesn't define her character, as so many horror movie characters go that route. Here, Snook gives Jessabelle some depth and some empathy, something a lot of horror flicks lack. So Jessabelle earns some points there.

The final reveals fail to live up to the moderate build up. So the end result is a poor result all around. The film lacks a lot of much needed scares and more importantly, tension and fear for the well being of our main character here. If Jessabelle looks like an interesting film to you, don't be fooled, it's not.

I found out about this movie through IMDb and decided to give it a spin. It had a lot more than I was initially expecting. It has got a couple of clichés that we have seen before, but besides that the movie definitely creeped me out. The house and it's setting give of a chilly vibe and works as a set. The movie creates a creepy atmosphere and doesn't rely on jump scares. The lead gives of a decent to good performance and is convincing in her role. Jessabelle is not really predictable, but when the ending explains how everything fits together there is a part of you that did know deep inside this was how it was gonna turn out. It doesn't disappoint in the end and it's surely is a movie that's worth the watch. Be sure to watch it alone in the dark so the atmosphere can creep you out at it's fullest.

Returning to her childhood home in Louisiana to recuperate from a horrific car accident (which left her unborn child and fiancé dead) Jessabelle(Sarah Snook)comes face to face with a long-tormented spirit that has been seeking her return—and has no intention of letting her escape.The action of "Jessabelle" takes place in backwoods bayou of Louisiana.The film was directed by Kevin Greutert of "Saw VI" and "Saw 3D" fame.The storyline is quite interesting and captivating and the voodoo imagery is quite spooky.Unfortunately long black haired female spirits in the vein of "Ringu" are too routine to be seriously scary.I must say that I quite enjoyed final twist,though.6 bayou ghosts out of 10.