Cliffjack Motion Pictures, Morgan Creek Productions,
Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz, Naomi Watts, Marton Csokas, Claire Geare, Taylor Geare, Rachel G. Fox, Jonathan Potts, Lynne Griffin, Elias Koteas, Mark Wilson
Daniel Atenton (Daniel Craig) is a businessman and writer who leaves the big city for a county home in New England, only to learn that the former owner of the house was accused of murdering his wife and two little girls. What’s worse is that Will has two little girls as well, and the girls keep seeing someone outside looking at them. Furthermore, there are a lot of odd things happening around the house. The neighbors seem rather unhappy to have someone living in the murder house, especially Ann Patterson (Rachel Weisz), the single Mom who lives with her young daughter next door.
This is a psychological thriller. It’s a pretty decent supernatural film and has a lot going for it. That being said, it could have been a lot better in the way it was handled. On the other hand, it could have ended up being just like several different films had they gone a different direction, and I think they did a pretty decent job of making this it’s own story. I think people will argue forever over whether the liked this or hated this.
This story reminds me a bit of a story by M Night Shyamalan. It’s quirky and full of plot twists like he likes to throw in. I would also say that the less you know about the story, the better. There is a huge discussion in film circles about whether the trailer gives away too much of the story or not. Well, I’m not sure. It certainly confused me and made me interested in the film. But I did really enjoy this movie, and the suspense really got me. I was riveted to the screen through the whole film, never wanting to take my eyes off the story. I can certainly understand the people who don’t like this type of story, and I’ll give them that, but I really got into it. I thought Daniel Craig did an excellent job, and Naomi Watts added a lot to the story. Just be aware that this film twists and turns several different ways, and so you need to pay attention to see where it’s going. It was nice to see it on DVD as we were able to pause the film and talk about it half way through when it got really confusing. I enjoyed it.
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