Barricade (2012) User Reviews

Do you know what happened here?

[richpurdon · 3/10 · 27 September 2012]

Admittedly I created this account because watching this left me so confused I'm hoping for answers, this is my first review so please be gentle...

I didn't get into Will & Grace but enjoyed Perception and this seems like one of Dr Pierce's psychotic breaks but without the insight or resolution. I get the premise; recently widowed husband takes kids on the Christmas winter break they both remember from times past and never got to enjoy, but the variables are too many to make it coherent. At a certain point, the story reaches a crossroads and seemingly takes all directions simultaneously. Maybe he's mentally unstable and missing his medication, maybe the house in the middle of nowhere is haunted, maybe he's psychotic and wants to reunite the family. All are reasonable plot lines for a thriller/horror but a story needs to be more than just a beginning. Perhaps I've missed the point, Technically I thought the young actors were good and gave effective, understated performances that did them credit, Eric was (I think) good but I'd give a more informed opinion if I knew what the hell he was talking about. Cinematography was far too dark, far too early and the establishing shots left me as lost as the plot. If anyone can shed some light I'd be appreciative...

Already been done and 1st one much better. I sat her for four hours. What a waste of time.

[twillard1 · 3/10 · 26 September 2012]

What actually was the movie about? My wife and I sat hear watching Barricade for around 1hr & 15 minutes and have no idea what it was about. The father character "Eric McCormack" missed so many opportunity's to rescue the kids. I know it was wrote in the script that way, but why? Maybe if we had any idea what is was about, we my have understood why. But probably not. Whoever had there hands in making this movie, were probably in a daze the whole time while writing and making it. Don't know how it's getting a 6.8 rating. I think I was more than generous giving it a 3.0 rating. I believe with a little bit of thought it could have been a really good movie. Almost all the time I had no idea if we were in real time or fantasy time. I will go read the synopsis and see if I can make a little sense out of it.

Not the best, but some good elements in it

[jackmeat · 5/10 · 5 October 2012]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekXNWWlp3N0 Shocktober continues:Well it is nice to see a WWE film that doesn't involve wrestlers.That being said, now the movie.The acting was very good, especially the kids.Scenery when you got to see it was also great, but the majority of the movie was isolated to the house.That being said the plot and story itself was not very well done.There were so many ways this could've been a good film and it just fell flat.I was hoping they could utilize the high points that flashbacks were alluding to throughout the movie and it just never happened.For a rental it is fine but beyond that I wouldn't much bother. 4.6/10 IMDb 4.7. Bonus for my readers http://www.imdb.com/video/wab/vi1627915033/

'Barricade' Review: Board up the windows and beware confusion

[james-slipnbleed · 2/10 · 26 September 2012]

*spoilers*

Sometimes nothing sounds better than a nice vacation to a cabin in the woods. But always remember to make a plan. I plan in case something terrible happens. A plan in case you get …DUN DUN DUN….A FEVER!

In Fido director Andrew Currie and WWE Studios' Barricade, Terrence Shade (Eric McCormack) has decided to get out of the city and take his two kids to a remote cabin. This cabin is in fact not even a cabin. It is a huge house in the middle of the woods. Yet, every single person in the films calls it a cabin.

A year before this lovely family vacation began Terrence and young Cynthia (Conner Dwelly) and Jake (Ryan Grantham) lost their wife/mother. All she wanted was to have a white Christmas at the "cabin". But, Terrence kept making excuses to get out of it. A workaholic, Terrence is pretty much one of the most annoying characters I have ever seen. At one point he tells his wife that being a mother is her strong suit while "mine is paying the bills," implying that he really wants nothing to do with his two children.

It doesn't take long for trouble to arrive after the family reaches the cabin. Strange and unexplainable occurrences have all three on edge. Terrence glimpses a spooky girl outside a kitchen window, which was the ONLY time I jumped during the film. Cynthia says something is in the attic. Jake spots something in the trees that surround the cabin. We catch brief glimpses of someone/something but it's hard to make out exactly who/what it is. Things quickly go from bad to worse. A sudden blizzard traps them in the house. Everyone comes down with a nasty fever. And all three are convinced that something is after them. So they try to barricade themselves in the house. Cynthia (somewhat inexplicably) wonders if maybe that's exactly what it wants.

Barricade is a frustratingly run-of-the-mill horror movie. It's certainly not the worst thing I have ever seen. The performances are solid enough. The isolated setting, while familiar, is effective and the cabin sufficiently creepy. At 75 minutes sans credits, it sure doesn't overstay its welcome. And despite an over-reliance on boo scares (people popping out of nowhere, things leaping from off the screen), it could have been much cheesier.

It just doesn't add up to much or do anything particularly interesting. Frequent flashbacks to happier days are filler. The matter of whether or not the freakiness is all in Terrence's head is telegraphed early on and there are no surprises. No real suspense is ever generated. The end result feels completely inconsequential. You watch it, and you're not bored, but you're not fully engaged either. When it was all said and done, all I felt was confusion. My exact words were "what the hell happened?"

Barricade is not something that I would suggest you run out and purchase. But, if you happen to find a copy of it lying on the street, and then you get really bored, and then you get all of your laundry done and eat dinner and can't quite fall asleep, watch Barricade.

Everything is great about this movie... except the "twist"

[rooprect · 28 December 2015]

"Barricade" is a well produced, atmospheric chiller with excellent acting, human characters, good cinematography, some creepy Kubrickian moments, a great location and an engaging premise. The only thing I didn't like was the plot reveal which felt like a major letdown after all the above.

But who knows, you might like it. Or at least, you might have a good time waiting to see if it's really as bad as everyone says. Note: that's the last I'll say about the ending because I don't want to ruin it (unlike the current top 2 reviews which spoil it in the first sentence. Seriously? How is spoiling a movie helpful?).

This is the first time I've seen Eric McCormick who plays the father, and I thought he was fantastic. He bears a striking resemblance, as well as a similar likable quality, to Sam Rockwell, and in fact I kept thinking maybe it was his twin brother or something. If you like Sam Rockwell flicks (like "Moon") you'll enjoy McCormick's delivery. He plays a good lead here: a father of 2 young kids forced to protect them from creepy happenings in a remote corner of the world. Despite losing his grip of reality as events unfold, he remains more or less smart and resourceful.

The two kids were excellent as well, and their fear added to the mood without being melodramatic as young actors sometimes are (I'm thinking mainly of my own attempts at making "horror movies" when I was 12, you don't want to know).

The atmosphere is very chilly, figuratively as well as literally. Filmed over the course of 4 days in the snowy wilderness near Vancouver, the filmmakers did an excellent job of conveying a claustrophobic feeling of terror despite being in the wide open north.

Really, this is a very well made movie except for the actual story driving it. Oh, there's one other thing I didn't care for: all the false scares in the first half hour. Some were effective, and I actually jumped once, but after being tricked a few too many times I started disconnecting from the action.

"Barricade" is one of those creepy films where you don't know what the threat is until the end, and this puts it in line with some excellent films like "The Others", "The Changeling", "Moscow Zero", or the mack daddy of twist endings, "The Sixth Sense". But in this case the story didn't have a corkscrew twist so much as it had a itty bitty bend.

omg

[maryfeather80 · 2/10 · 3 November 2012]

what the hell was that all about?If the director didn't have an inspiration then why even bother making a movie?Just to make another movie?The plot-what plot?-was awful, the set up awful,the dialogue inspiring, the actors didn't know what they were doing there and i was wondering why am i watching this movie?The end was so silly that a ten year old would do it better,much much better.The movie was pointless and the rating approves that,i really had high hopes for that movie but it all went down the hill.If you are bored out of your mind do not watch this,try wrong turn 5,at least you will laugh...I am a really bad reviewer but this is a really bad movie people, even though the lead actor is pretty good..just not in this movie

DVD box is more interesting then the movie

[shawnspo82 · 2/10 · 26 September 2012]

Not sure if this movie is about a guy having a mental breakdown or about a house that is haunted. This movie is so dark and was really hard to see on my TV. Seems like you end up just looking at a lot of darkness that the creators thought you should be scared by. I am a lover of pretty much any movie and usually don't give a movie a bad review. This movie i am sad to say is one that i have to give a bad review to because of a story line that isn't really the easiest to follow and and ending that really doesn't give closure to the last hour and a half you spent watching it.

My advice is to "Barricade" this DVD in the four walls of the red box or store that you got it at and keep it away from your DVD player!!!

This movie fails to be a good Thriller.

[Michael-Hallows-Eve · 2/10 · 29 September 2012]

This is a WWE film and in my opinion they should stick to sports entertainment and stay out of the horror movie business. This movie had all the hallmarks of being a good thriller but only in the right hands, but alas it wasn't. The story wasn't too bad but I feel the director (Andrew Currie, "FIDO") failed in his delivery for me. There were a few clichés in the film and it tried too hard to be something it wasn't, a good thought provoking Thriller. And at the end of the movie it all seems to be a waste of time as it is one of those films that you ask yourself why, why did that need to be made? So as a result, I give this film a 2 out of 10. It could have been a good film in the right hands.

Reasonable Storyline, Terrible Screenplay

[claudio_carvalho · 4/10 · 12 September 2015]

Terrance Shade (Eric McCormack) is in love with his wife Leah (Jody Thompson) that invites him to go with their children Cynthia (Conner Dwelly) and Jake (Ryan Grantham) to an isolated cabin where she used to go when she was a child. One year later, Leah is dead and Terrence travels with his children to spend Christmas in the cabin. They meet Sheriff Howes (Donnelly Rhodes) that gives the keys to him and they find the cabin well prepared with supplies. But soon, the family is haunted by supernatural events and Terrance entwines daydreams with reality. What is happening in the house?

"Barricade" is a film with a reasonable storyline inspired in "The Shining". However, the terrible screenplay is confused and is not clear about what is reality or insanity, despite the good performances. If the viewer enjoys happy ends, he may believe that the children are saved by their father and rescued in the end. But it is more credible that they died due to the insanity of their father. However the writer seems to be lost and there is no clue for any interpretation. My vote is four.

Title (Brazil): "Barricada" ("Barricade")

A film using confusion & doubt to creep you out.

[Thrill_KillZ · 6/10 · 29 September 2012]

Major Spoiler****************The whole film is basically given out by here so Spoiler Beware******************* Frankly the only reason I am doing this is due to the frustration of reading all of these negative clueless reviews where no one can seem to figure this simple plot out. It seems like people either got this film totally or not at all. A widowed father played by Eric McCormack rents a cabin in the snowy mountains along the way they stop at a store for supplies and meet the care taker there(he runs the store) The caretaker has the flu & the dad & his two young children all contract the flu from him. In the first 24-48 hours things go from good to bad as they get sicker & sicker. The dad who isn't used to taking care of the kids because his wife used to do that stuff(but now dead), so he struggles especially when they all become terribly ill. High fevers plague them all & dad starts washing down Clonzapam(same as Xanax) with a bottle of whiskey to treat himself. As his temperature rises & the drugs take affect he starts to become delusional & paranoid. He starts to lose track of time(Clonzapam+Alcohol) and he wakes up after sleeping all night & all day to find out the storm that he knew was coming has buried his car completely, he didn't have the energy to uncover it. His kids randomly drop hints of hearing things in the house and seeing a figure outside so dad's fragile mental state starts to spin out of control with paranoia & fear so he boards up the house completely. They think something is in the attic, they here constant noise up there so he locks the latch to it. Evidently the caretaker came to the house to check up on them & dad in his drug, alcohol & fever induced delusion locked him in the attic because he was the reason his family got sick & he believes both of his kids Lay dead in bed due to the flu they had so he ties him up & puts him in the attic(he blacks out & doesn't even remember putting him up there), thats where the noise was coming from. Also on the way there he hit a large wolf, due to that being in his head it just adds to the danger he feels from the outside. In the end the cops break the door down to find the missing caretaker & at that moment dad finds out his kids were only sleeping & they all get taken away in an ambulance, with the police saying he will be charged for what he did. Everything else in the film is on account of the father's weak grip on reality & his drug,alcohol,stress & fever induced craziness. The only thing unexplained is in the last ten seconds when the curtain is pulled back from the window, that is unexplained, everything else is completely explained, causes & effects, all of them. If you saw a scene that you didn't understand it's because it's being shot by his perceptions, not the true reality, just a fever alone will make you hallucinate never mind combining it with the pills & alcohol. Even though I pretty much knew what was going on it still managed to creep me out quite a bit throughout. It was new original film that used confusion to get into your mind questioning your beliefs & it wasn't a terrible film by any means, the acting by Eric McCormack was good, I had no problem with it. He sold the role enough to show he has lost his head totally. It was well funded & had good production value, TV quality at the very least. I would recommend it to someone as a decent film 6/10

Plain Jane

[wayofthejeep · 4/10 · 1 October 2012]

If I could describe this movie in one word it would be...plain. Its your run of the mill low budget thriller, and if you've watched 10 horror movies in your life, you've already seen everything this movie has to offer. Its full of "boo!" scares mixed in with someone standing outside the window one second, and gone the next double takes. Also if you can't stand the disruptive flow of stories where you watch a scene, then all the sudden the character is back on the couch and the last two minutes didn't really happen, you will not like this, because it does that a lot. But it is better that you'd expect for a WWE direct to video movie so watch it only if you come across a free copy and have some time to kill. Lastly, as for all the "confused" reviews- this movie does leave you with a lot of questions, but there is one scene where it zooms in on something for a pause, and that will answer most of the questions. You will know it when you see it.

Good, Solid Movie with a TWIST

[davidfurlotte · 8/10 · 28 November 2012]

I enjoy the horror and thriller genre and this movie was well put together with enough twists to keep you guessing as to what was really happening.

Firstly, I signed in so I could give a positive review because I feel that many of the other reviewers didn't understand what they had seen.

*****SPOILERS HERE***** All throughout the movie you're piecing things together beginning with discovering that the wife was dead and for awhile at least you're not quite sure if the husband didn't in fact kill her. We discover early on that the husband and father is a doctor but we're not quite sure what kind of doctor until near the very end.

This movie makes you wonder if the cabin is haunted by the ghost of the mother or by some other presence. It makes you wonder if perhaps some strange force of nature has taken over or if there's something in the air around this winter home aka cabin. Finally, it all gets wrapped up in the end through a series of flashbacks. My favourite part of this movie is realizing that you should NEVER mix booze and drugs ESPECIALLY when the bottle tells you NOT to do it! LOL

All in all, if you enjoy watching a movie that makes you think instead of spoon-feeding you the plot, give this movie a watch and enjoy.

Honestly, here's my thoughts

[piperjet2012 · 6/10 · 26 June 2013]

First off, let it be known that I was never a fan of this actor. The only exposure I've had was the one or two times I stumbled upon a Will & Grace episode.

With that being said, I think he did a good job and it was nice to see him step into this genre. He did well, although, the children were not a good match. As one person said, "children just don't act that way". I thought there was some provocation of thought. I am the type of movie watcher that likes to figure things out (Usual Suspects.... Awesome!) I don't think it was a bad movie and felt that it showed he has talent that is versatile and should be utilized in a wider range of films.

Overall, I can see how some watchers might be confused, but I enjoyed the movie, there were some good "jolts" in the movie. A parent, inexperienced, on medication, taking care of sick kids after losing his wife & mother of his children, in a cabin, in a snowstorm. Not the best setting for a Rockwell moment, huh?!

Think it was a good movie. Had the potential to be better but they did good with the budget they had to work with.

What the?

[MisterE2108 · 1/10 · 26 September 2012]

Another film I was in anticipation to see, only to be disappointed. Very misleading film that boils down to a father and his two children who end up getting the flu. As the fevers start the set in, the hallucinations and hysteria begin. I went into this film thinking it was going to be an awesome haunted house film or in the case a haunted cabin film. All my presumptions were based on the great promo trailer that I've seen almost daily. The thing about having a really bad fever it is possible to have vivid hallucinations, because I can still recall the three witches that I swore were plotting to cook and eat my mother when I had a really bad fever. During my hallucination I damn near killed our cat 'Buster' because during my fever I thought he was one of the witches who were in this plot against my mother and were now out to kill me because I knew what they were plotting...lol (True story). Barricade is like buying a bag of sweet juicy plums only to find out when you get home and open the bag, it's nothing but a bag of dried up prunes. Don't be fooled by the promos or trailer or even the box cover, this is not a ghost or haunted story, it's nothing but a father and his two children who get the flu and start having hallucinations. And if you do happen to watch this film, wait until you see what the dummies who made this film had the nerve to do at the very end of this movie, as if they wanted the viewer to say, "Oh no, the cabin was really haunted". Get the you know what outta here. I'll never tell a person not to see a film, so go ahead watch this film if you're curious to see for yourself.

Not terrible, but VERY familiar

[Wizard-8 · 2 February 2013]

A grieving widower decides to reconnect with his kids by taking them out to the wilderness to an isolated cabin. Not long afterwards, strange things start to happen and... what, you've seen all of this before? So have I. While the movie does try to inject a surprise twist towards the end, even that twist will come across as VERY familiar to many viewers. In short, there is very little originality in this movie. On the other hand, the production values are pretty good for a low budget movie made by WWE Studios. There is also some genuine atmosphere here and there. The acting is acceptable, even with the child performers. And the movie runs at a reasonable running time of just a little over eighty minutes. This movie certainly is not one you should be seeking out, but if it comes on your television during an especially slow night, you could do worse.

Some unusual elements dot otherwise familiar scenario...

[moonspinner55 · 3/10 · 26 April 2017]

Widower dad, nervous and self-conscious about his ability to raise two preteens by himself, takes the youngsters into the Colorado mountains for a vacation at a cabin once owned by his deceased wife's father. Combination ghost story/mental breakdown thriller is pretty much scuttled by a confused, jumbled screenplay, full of dead ends. Eric McCormack heads the small cast, which also includes two child actors whose performances are utterly flat, and Donnelly Rhodes as a weathered sheriff with a bad cough. McCormack gives it a try, but there's no character for him to play, and his constant running from room to room grows wearisome (and negates any suspense in the scenario). Andrew Currie is responsible for the mediocre direction, from a thin, derivative script by Michaelbrent Collings. There's really only one well-directed sequence in the picture: a flashback to the wife's death. Genre entry had potential as a jittery, who's-in-the house scare-flick, but results are ultimately tepid. *1/2 from ****

Wow

[Cokeoverpepsi123 · 2/10 · 27 September 2012]

I watched this movie in its entirety. That being said, the only reason I did is to see at some point it would eventually make sense. I had no idea what this movie was about but the box looked good and I did see that it had a 6.2 review, so I figured I would give it a shot. Started out good but early on you can tell it was all in his head, but at no point does it ever fully come together. things appear and disappear (wood, lock on attic..)so I guess that gives you an idea of order of events....maybe...and what about the hammer.....I kinda get what they are going for but maybe if you just accept it and don't think about it, it will be O.K. all in all its 15 min of build up, and hour of confusion, then 15 min trying to tie the last hour together. Acting was good I think, and it has its creepy moments. I have seen worse....

I am confused as hell..!

[xena-45579 · 5/10 · 6 November 2023]

I was excited to see an Eric McCormack "non-Will & Grace" flick, + - a scary/thriller, way out in the way woods, in snow, w/something sinister, or with possibly creepy, snow creatures. I got NONE of that. It was an acid trip, w/snow,& fevered kids,& Dad, w/a persistent cough, who were here, then there, or wait, they're asleep, or, not. A dream of the Dad's? Or was he hallucinating from a fever, too? Feeling guilt of not being able to save his wife after a fall,& trying to celebrate Christmas w/the children, &move on?? Who knows?! Just a back & forth tug of war &into a big mud pit of confusion.

What the hell did I just watch ?

[boynascar · 4/10 · 12 February 2014]

What the hell was that ? I thought I knew what was going on (father taking the drugs, hallucinating and all whacked out on drugs) then it jumped all over the place without explanation AT&T all. Why this? Why that ? Couldn't follow this movie from the start. It was building up for the grand finally and fell far short of thrilling. "He will get what's coming to him"... And they let him go to the Hospital with his kids after he kidnapped and almost killed a man while on drugs ? Don't want to live near these police.. All and all. Very disappointing movie that had potential but didn't take advantage of the money spent on it. What a shame I wanted an hour and change on this one..

Barricade From Reality

[langleyt · 5/10 · 14 June 2014]

Spoilers

Okay, I will say that I did enjoy this movie even though I felt it was very confusing. Also, I came here initially to find what other people thought, and whether others were confused also. However, the reviews made me more confused than the movie did. For one thing everyone, most everyone, is saying the father, Eric McCormack, was a grieving widower who was delusional, running a fever, and taking too much medication while drinking. While I agree these notions are true...to an extent, it doesn't make sense, that when the cops burst through the door and find the caretaker locked in the attic, for the cops and the caretaker to agree that 'he' will get what's coming to him. Rather than accepting that the guy was just a little wacky on pills, fever, and delusion, this sounds like a prediction for the outcome of a guilty person who has committed a crime.

Now, it could be that the crime was in committing the act of locking the caretaker in the attic. But, they also said he was going to be thrown in jail, and it just doesn't fit that they would be so cold-hearted toward a man who has done this crime under the conditions of delusion and illness. He had to have done something more worthy and heinous as to deserve such a sentence.

Several things in the movie lead me to believe there is more to this movie than a sick father with sick kids who all take a little trip to an isolated cabin in the woods. For one thing, the little boy is complaining of nightmares which the mother tries to alleviate. This seems to occur just after the parents have had some 'words'? Were the parents in fact arguing? Then the mother was accidentally killed? Murdered? Or maybe she was supernaturally taken out of the picture by something more sinister...perhaps she released something from the whole or pipe in the ground that started what became a nightmarish turn of events. Was that why the father seemed to leap in and out of time, and did he bring this thing along with him, or was he possessed? And was this entity the presence which parted the curtains when the ambulance drove off? Why was the father even in the ambulance with the children after it was evident that he would be going to jail? And was it this sinister 'being' that led the little girl to believe that barricading the house on the inside was what 'it' wanted them to do all along? Also, why was the red stuffed toy buried beneath the snow with a hand-crafted cross? The daughter was insistent that her father bury it. What about the wolf that the father and the children all saw being hit? Granted the children didn't see that it was a wolf, but they did see that something had hit the windshield, and they wouldn't have been under the influence of drugs, alcohol, or a chronic cough only just contracted a few miles down the road. However, they were present when the mom had her hand down the cement hole.

There are just too many things left unexplained in this movie for the answer to be as simple as some of these reviews imply. I think certainly the father has done something much more gruesome than locking up the caretaker and throwing away the key. And I believe the reason he did so was more than a touch of fever, grief, and medicated delusion. Deluded he was, but to what extent? As I said, I did enjoy the movie...but I would have preferred a few more hints as to what really happened and what didn't happen. However, I certainly wouldn't have enjoyed it as much if all the details were pieced together, all neat and tidy. After all, it is a thriller.

Effective low budget genre movie.

[Boba_Fett1138 · 6/10 · 28 September 2012]

Nothing too great about this movie but it uses its low budget creatively and besides is a well made and good looking movie.

It's absolutely, most definitely, a far more professional looking movie than the average low budget genre attempt. The directing, the editing, the cinematography, it's simply all good, making this a perfectly watchable genre flick.

The movie does a good job at handling its mystery and tension. It's being a real effective movie in that regard and the movie constantly keeps throwing you off. Is it being a horror flick, is it all taking place inside the head of main character? The movie implies lots of different things throughout, making you feel unsure what is exactly going on with the story. It really keeps things interesting and helps to keep things going, even when there really isn't an awful lot happening.

This movie often just implies things, without ever truly showing you anything. This is what being creative with a low budget is all about, as opposed for instance other genre movies with a low budget, that show far too much or try to do too much with its restrained budget, with as a result things just look plain bad and work out more often ridicules or laughable. I really do believe that is the main reason why the movie in fact works out.

You could complain that the movie is too dark looking, which is true but again, I also see this in this case as using its low budget creatively. It besides does help to establish a certain type of atmosphere for the movie, which is the right type of atmosphere required for an horror.

It's also certainly true that the movie does sort of fall apart toward it's end but really, it's not any worse than often is being the case with any other random genre attempt. Let me just say that it didn't ruined the experience for me, which perhaps was also because I could see the end coming from miles away, as should any other horror lover. So it's not surprising but still the movie does a good job at handling things and simply does what it does well enough.

Nothing too brilliant obviously but the movie as it is remains a perfectly watchable one.

6/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

Watch it, or don't. You could do worst, and you could easily do better.

[nitzanhavoc · 4/10 · 26 January 2013]

If I had to summarize "Barricade" in two words, they'd be "Ok... What??!". And that would pretty much be it. As a devout Horror fan I watch plenty of Horror films of all sub-genres, and I love it when the screenplay is clever enough to have twists or events that are only fully explained in the end. While Barricade might have the potential of being a film just like that, the answers given to the planted question are simply anti-climactic and unsatisfying.

Half of the time the audience can't know for sure if the events that occur are real, or hallucinations induced by an overdose of psychiatric pills and/or a terribly high fever. Ghosts? Crazy father? What?! We simply don't know what to think, and the characters' behavior makes us think we're headed for a twist just like in Hide and Seek (2005). A lot of potential. Not a good result.

The acting was great in my opinion, another reason to be saddened by the lacking screenplay. Any film where the anticipation exceeds the actual outcome is not a very good one.

While you could do worst, you could also do better, a lot better. Can't really recommend this film, but can't say I didn't enjoy watching it. Still, not one of the good ones.

Ignore the Naysayers

[jkrencher · 8/10 · 30 April 2015]

If you're looking for torture pron or a gorefest, go somewhere else. If you're looking for a good old-fashioned thriller, one that makes you jump, bite your nails, and gasp... if you're looking for a movie that keeps you on the edge of the seat and makes you wipe the sweat from your brow when it's over... if you're looking for a horror movie that you can watch with the family (teenagers and up) without worrying about sex, nudity, language, gore, or excessive violence but that will still scare the living crap out of you... LOOK NO FURTHER.

Excellent production value despite a low budget. Plenty of chills and suspense, with the requisite twists. Excellent, solid performances from the cast--even from the kids.

Ignore the naysayers: this is like The Shining in that they both involve families in the mountains with snow. That's about the extent. Those who tear it down either have an axe to grind or just can't appreciate a bloodless, sexless horror movie.

I love horror of all kinds and media, and frankly I can't recommend this movie enough.

What were people expecting?

[pensacolacomputer · 7/10 · 30 September 2012]

I almost did not watch this because of the terrible reviews here. But that's a good thing now, because I went into the movie thinking it was going to be awful when I was pleasantly surprised.

The acting was great, the unknown kids did a great job. The plot was good and original. I am a HUGE horror fan and have never seen a movie like this (and I have watched a TON of horror moves).

I was shocked that this was PG-13. This movie scared the crap out of me, and I am a 37 year old male. I must have jumped no less than 10 times and screamed at the screen several times (about the same amount as when I watched Insidious). However, I do scare easily, but that is why I LOVE horror movies. When going to bed that night I was looking behind doors, turning on lights, etc...

So if you are like me and go into this movie excepting it to be a HUGE let down, you might be pleasantly surprised like I was. In conclusion, sit back and enjoy it for what it is, and what it is is a great horror movie with a lot of scares, good acting, and a good story!

Paltry, bland PG-13 horror

[kannibalcorpsegrinder · 3/10 · 14 May 2013]

Heading out to a small cabin to get over the death of his wife, a man and his children find the location to be the source of numerous creepy goings-on and that someone or something is targeting them inside, forcing them into a desperate fight for survival.

This here was just an absolutely paltry effort with very little to recommend about it. The fact that this one's restrained rating means that the film is constantly fighting an uphill battle that it will never win since there's never going to be any danger to the children in order to get a harsher rating, forcing the attack scenes to fall into a predictable pattern of fading out before anything happens to which he wakes up and thinks it was all a dream, or he sees something that distracts the attack and it focuses on another aspect of the situation which is quite distracting and really diminishes the film a lot. As well, there's very little to keep the film engaging when the attacks don't come, and the whole plot twist comes at you from a mile away despite the hint it's going to be clever, and the only thing this really has going for it is the creepy cabin with the raging snowstorm outside, which is quite a bit of fun and definitely has a great atmosphere to it, but otherwise there's not a lot going for this one.

Rated PG-13: Violence, Mild Violence and children-in-jeopardy.