dmerrill-537-56275

This movie really didn't have a lot going for it. I'm thinking the biggest problem with it was the script. I don't think I'm giving anything away by saying using a pop diva concert as a trap for a serial killer is about the dumbest idea I've heard. Send an army of SWAT to check every male in the audience. So, my level of disbelief is already pretty high. Then we have a lot of overacting. The guy is suspicious from his first words, but then, I guess they weren't going to hide the fact that pleasant Dad is a serial killer for long. Problem is, he's been hiding it from his family for years and, given how bad he is at selling pleasant Dad to us, I'm not buying he could do it with his family for more than a week. So, bad script, mediocre acting tgat may have more to do with the script. Or maybe the director pushed the actors in this direction, because they are usually pretty good. Who knows, I didn't realize this was a known quantity behind this when I started watching and I really thought this was a low budget thing by unknowns. I was surprised when I saw who made this.

Not many films are made like this any more. It reminded me of watching the Russian film based on the Strugatsky Brothers' classic Roadside Picnic, though it moves a little faster than that film. A lot of people seem to miss things that are important in this film. Pay attention to the number 7. You'll want to be counting things there are more than a few of. I won't say more. It holds clues. Pay attention to how she gets the scar. You won't see that until the end but it will make some sense of things. On the surface this film makes you think it's linear. Most of it is, but its linearity is invaded multiple times. I suspect there are enough clues here to piece things together, but its humdrum trappings will lull you into missing some if you aren't careful. Not sure if I'll go back to find them all. Definitely makes you think more than most films do today. Worth a watch, but don't expect the usual horror story here, even for a psychological thriller.

I woke up and opened my phone. It was still on the Monsters channel on Pluto from when I fell asleep. This movie was running. I hadn't intended to watch anything when I got up, but I was completely sucked in. Definitely not what I usually expect on that channel, but this was another kind of ghost story. One where the ghost is coming back with a purpose. I won't tell you what it is, because that's the crux of the whole movie. Amazing stuff. Very well written, directed and acted. I think the only reason one might give it a low rating is expectations of something completely different. Don't go in with expectations of jump scares or bloody horror. It isn't that. It's psychological horror.