July 16, 2011


plot summary here

In a nutshell the movie is about haunting and astral travel. As the trailer implied, it's the boy that's being haunted and not the house although it started in that charming Edwardian house that the family initially moved into. Evil is following the kid and his parents, played by Rose Byrne (Damages) and Patrick Wilson (Watchmen), are set to get his soul back from The Further and return it to his body before something else occupies it.

I don't want to delve too much on the plot because I might give out spoilers and I don't want anybody to miss out on the suspense and suck out the fun from watching this movie. Ergo I'll just go ahead and share my thoughts on this film.

First of all if you're a scaredy-cat like me, I suggest that you watch this either during the day or with someone (I did both) because there are a lot of startling scenes and whoever did the music score (Tiptoe Through The Tulips will make your skin crawl) did it really well. It added up to the suspense and as the music swells, my heart is pumping wildly and my throat is ready to release a pathetic terrified scream.

The effects are subtle but great. The seance was flat out scary, I was curled up on the couch, hands covering half of my face and eyes in fearful anticipation. Although the Scooby duo and the contraption used by the medium can be a distraction it will fade into the background in the succeeding scenes. When Wilson's character got to The Further it was like stepping into a haunted attraction with creepy characters and scary antique-doll-looking spirits (I just get creeped out by old dolls et al), malevolent entities and finally the demon's domain. The most suspenseful part was when they were panning reality and The Further side by side while stopping those bad spirits from crossing over into our world. Awesome editing!

As for the story itself, I'm aware of the mixed reviews but as an average viewer I find it acceptable. Whatever the plot is lacking in terms of logical reasoning etc. the element of ominous surprise surely made up for it. It's not gory rather it's monster-in-the-closet type of film. It reminded me of night terrors and why I used to have a night light.

I highly recommend that you catch this film if you still haven't.




