The Pact

(2012) ***1/2

While house-sitting her recently-deceased mother’s house, Nicole Skype’s her young daughter to say “goodnight”. During the conversation her daughter says, “Mommy, who is that behind you?” Nicole looks but there is no one there and that is the last anyone sees of her. Given Nicole’s history of irresponsibility, her younger sister, Annie, thinks little of her absence, assuming that she bailed on the situation for whatever reason. Annie takes over the house-sitting duty to settle her mother’s affairs but soon find herself being haunted and assaulted by a malevolent force. Working with a skeptical cop the duo investigates and discovers that her mother held some dark family secrets.

The Pact is my favorite kind of horror these days! This is a simple ghost story that involves a creepy house, unsettling photographs, and family secrets. Like 2009’s “House of the Devil”, the tension comes from watching a lone girl slowly walk though a creepy dwelling while things go bump in the night. Yes it is derivative, but it delivers the chills. The house, in particular, is just wonderful for a horror movie. Covered with crazy old lady wallpaper, claustrophobic space, creaky floorboards and squeaky doors, it is the perfect place for a haunting.

Brrrrrrrr! Old fashioned scares just the way I like them. Great stuff.