A) A Girl of Loose Morals...
B) Alone in a Dark Place...
C) During Inclement Weather with...
D) A Psycho on the Loose and...
E) A Car That Won't Start and...
F) A Situation That Forces Her to Leave Her Vehicle So She Can Be Killed and Later...
G) Moved Into a Place in the House So Her Body Can Scare the Heroine.
The only thing missing in that scene is an "Oh, it was just the cat!" false shock, and that's probably because West and Wall used that up earlier in the film.
Amidst this ruin of cliche and contrivance, Simon West takes it upon himself to demonstrate yet again why he's one of the worst directors in the movie business. The opening sequence, in particular, is scissored within an inch of its life, thus reminding us that West is the guy who gets hired when Michael Bay's dance card is too full. (I nearly puked when a shot in that jumbled opening montage struck me as a reference to Fritz Lang's M.)
His facility with actors is nonexistent (I've heard Ms. Belle shows promise in her roles in The Ballad of Jack and Rose and The Chumscrubber; here, she's completely incapable of saying anything that sounds at all authentic), which makes the human-drama bits seem even more useless and time-wasting than they already feel.
And West has no feel for the actual building of suspense, instead falling time and again onto tired rumble-shock cliches that goose the audience at the expense of atmosphere. Moreover, his compositions still emphasize chaos over coherence which, given the massive space he has to play in, is just asking for disaster. And it's disaster we get — if you can figure out at all how, given the spatial dynamics of the house, the final chase sequence is actually staged, you get a blue ribbon. This fact is doubly sad, being that the only thing that really seems to grab West's attention is the house itself. You figure the attraction of the admittedly-gorgeous edifice would compel the director to figure out the layout, but that would be expecting too much.
Thus, we have a horror film with no horror, no intelligence, no real threat to its protagonists and more padding than your sister's training brassiere. So it's come to this, then. Great. I'll be in the parking lot waiting for you guys.
Article comments
1 - Joey
hi i wopuld just like to tell you that i think you review is completely stupid and idiotic...when u said it the 1st movie that you have seen where some1 get scared with the refrigerators icemachine. that is sooo stupid kk if u had been getting phone calls liek that all night i bet you that you would shit yourself kk....and when i said that Jills boyfreinds name wasnt even in the IMDB...IT IS YOU LOSER his name was Bobby jeeze get ur facts str8 kk
2 - Steve C.
I will take your criticism seriously when you learn to both express yourself in a coherent fashion and understand what you read. kthxbye.
3 - Jeremiah Lewis
I'd heard this movie was atrocious. Glad I didn't succumb to my baser instincts and pay 10 bucks to see it in the theatre.
4 - Gregus Watchus Nowus
Watching the movie now on one of the premium channels. Best thing about the movie? The house. I want it. It's beautiful.
5 - Jayson
I liked the movie. I bet if you had a teen kid that was babysitting u would never want that to happen to her. Also I hope they make a number 2. Thry did certain things to make it more real. I know I have gotten random calls before weird me out little.
6 - kanishe
Im only in my teens, and i found the movie to be a little scarry at first. then after a watched it a few times i laughed at it. I found it was a gd movie, and it was definatly worth seeing.This moving has actaully made brought me back friends with my best friend.werid i no!.
Its a great movie for teen girls to watch when it comes to those sscarrry slumber parties.And is a great practical joke to play on your friends after.
7 - Jakester
I have just seen the movie on tv for the first ime and it was a good movie in my opinion. Opinions are held by everyone, and yours is a little cut throat. Almost to the point you have a hidden motive behind being so.