The whole film was shot in such a way as that it looks like
one continuous shot. I noticed the odd cut here and there but overall the idea
is very successful. It genuinely feels as though Elizabeth Olsen is in the
house for 85 minutes, running, hiding from and fighting whatever is after her.
Using just one camera, Olsen is on screen for about 84 of the 85 minutes and
has to carry the entire film. She does so with great aplomb. The one shot idea isn’t
original and indeed the film itself is a remake of a 2010 Uruguayan film but it’s
a nice gimmick that is well used.
The house is brilliantly dressed to maximise the creepy
feeling. It creaks and whistles and is filled with all manner of sinister fittings
from old furniture and toys to large objects under sheets and unknown items
half hidden in the shadows. It also feels a little maze like though you get to
know your way around as the film progresses. Elizabeth Olsen is dressed in
typical horror attire with a tight white vest which shows off her ‘ample
talents’ as well as the blood and dirt she accumulates throughout the film. Her
performance is also mind blowingly excellent. She was superb in Martha Marcy May Marlene and if anything
even better here. She starts off a bit slowly but after twenty minutes goes all
the way up to eleven where she stays until the final few moments during which
she is pushing twelve. She is even better at the end than she was during the
rest of the film.
So far, so good then. Unfortunately there are two major
problems. The first is that it is nowhere near scary enough. I get scared by
everything and I didn’t jump once. Don’t get me wrong, it’s scarier than Dark Shadows but so is my girlfriend in
the morning. For a proper ‘scary’ horror, it didn’t produce the scares it
needed to. There was plenty of tension but it didn’t go anywhere. My second
problem is that I worked out part of the twist after about eight minutes and
had unravelled everything by the mid point. The film still ended in a
satisfying way but I felt where we were heading was fairly obvious. On the
other hand, my girlfriend said she thought about it at the beginning but it
didn’t totally click with her until the end so maybe I’m in a minority.
Overall the film will be best remembered for its clever
cinematography rather than for its scares. It’s a nice idea but the plot has
been done a thousand times. It creates plenty of tension and intrigue but doesn’t
deliver the final blow. Elizabeth Olsen continues to impress and I look forward
to seeing her again soon.
5/10
I wanted to see this but it was only out at our Cineworld a week. Sounds good enough to give a try though, will prob rent it when out on DVD
ReplyDeleteWe went to Stockport to see it because it wasn't at Didsbury. We've been to three different Cineworlds' this week! The film is alright, worth checking out on DVD.
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