Review by Mari Lynne Rupp
Starring Penelope Ann Miller, Dylan McDermott, Kirsten Stewart
It's been six years since the Rollins family just up and left and now the troubled Solomon family has come from Chicago, to rebuild their lives following their sons hospitalization due to their daughter's drunk driving accident. But as they start to settle in something odd and strange begins to occur to their son. Could something supernatural be at work, and did the previous family just leave...or are they still here?
This film started out promising more than it could deliver....The tagline "There is evidence to suggest that children are highly susceptible to paranormal phenomena. They see what adults cannot. They believe what adults deny. And they are trying to warn us. " suggests we are in for a wild ride in the same vein as "Poltergeist", with the paranormal malevolent forces targeting children, and tapping into the great fear of parents all over the world...That they can't always protect thier children, especially from such things sight unseen...It took me awhile to watch this film for this very reason. What parent wants to be reminded of such shortcomings? So I waited until I had the right mindframe to watch it.
My caution was unnecessary. The film started promising, showing mysterious forces carrying away and terrifying the first family, then cutting to present day, and the Solomons moving in.
Firstly, it takes far too long to get into the history of the family, and reasons why the dynamic is so strained. Penelope Ann Miller has done so much better in her career, The Relic springing to mind...And Kirsten Stewart's "teen angst" feels very forced, and unrealistic. There is an important scene, which requires her to deliver a major tantrum with her father before storming off, which was well-botched by Stewart....Honey, if you expect us to believe you being in love with a vampire in your up-and-coming Twilight, give us more passion. That was terrible.
The storyline and twist ending could've worked so well if the acting hadn't been half-hearted and the directing lukewarm. The chemistry between the characters was so non-existent, I thought the parents were foster parents, or step-parents...No real passion, no real emotion there. I think the best actor who stole the movie scenes were twins Evan and Theodore Turner who portrayed little three-year-old Ben. The movie effects were decent, but attempts at suspense were overdone and cliched. I'm sure the symbolism with the crows was supposed to be explained, but no one bothered...Not even in the special features of the DVD, so when the crows arrive on scene just before or after a paranormal encounter in the movie, the viewer is left with a confused feeling, not satisfied when the movie raps up without an explanation and the crows suddenly behaving benignly.
Come on, Mr. Pangs, come on Todd Farmer....You need to take some lessons from our indie horror friends...Just because you have a budget, doesn't mean your movie's any good. This is proof posetive. 3/10.