(2009)***Alice(Brittany Murphy) needs a break from her city life after an emotion breakdown. We're not privy to what caused the breakdown at this time but suffice to say she is on edge and needs a quiet getaway. She is a writer and a close contact allows her to use his remote Victorian house to get some much needed peace and quiet so she can finish her screenplay before the upcoming deadline. She starts to hear noises in the house shortly after her arrival but actually finds them soothing feeling it's just a creaky old house. Soon after the noises become more unsettling and she begins to investigate. She discovers a a shoe box in the attic filled with tapes, some sort of home movies. As she delves into the secret world of Lucy and David, the couple on the tapes, she opens up a world of supernatural terror.
I really wanted this to be better. I have a real soft spot when it comes to creepy old houses, they can set a mood like nothing else can. When a film opens up to someone arriving at a creepy old house they've already got my attention. The hairs are raised on the back of my neck and I'm braced for the scare to start. At first, Deadline brings it on hard. It is filled with creaks and cheap mirror image scares, just the stuff that gets my blood going. Then as Alice starts to unravel unfortunately so does the plot. It gets more confusing, are the ghosts real or just the crazy lady's imagination type stuff. I began putting so much effort into trying to figure out the puzzle that I forgot I supposed to be scared. There are some real good old fashioned fright moments and I wouldn't call it bad film at all. I was just disappointed with the direction they took it and the ending is a bit of a fizzlework.
8 comments:
"I really wanted this to be better."
This defines how I feel about so many scary movies.
"When a film opens up to someone arriving at a creepy old house they've already got my attention." You said it! This is my favorite setup as well. There are a lot of "haunted house" films but very few of them are effective. At some point I want to compose a list of the best ones. It's creepy to see Brittany Murphy in those pictures knowing that she would be dead in real life soon after.
Yeah, it's a little creepy watching her knowing that as well.
A list of the best haunted house flicks would be freakin' awesome!
Nice review! I agree, I love a creepy old haunted house.
Nothing better then a good creepy house! Bummer about the fizzlework though.
see, and my favorite movies usually start with a pizza man delivering to the wrong address and finding a dejected housewife in a chemise.
Who says "chemise?"
I like the simplicity of this sentence: "Then as Alice starts to unravel unfortunately so does the plot."
Haunted house movies are the best but maybe they don't lend themselves to a decent plot structure without some above-average effort. Off the top of my head I can think of more failures than successes.
I thought 1408 delivered the goods in a big way.
I totally agree.
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