Despite being based on one of the most famous ghost stories in American history and including a solid cast, this 'horror' film is anything but scary, dramatic, or even interesting. Instead, the flick is largely boring, confusing, and poorly executed. Even though it clocks in at a running time of just 90 minutes or so, the film drags throughout most of the non-horror scenes, and even through some of the so-called 'scary' moments. All of it leads up to a conclusion that is baffling, illogical, and very stupid. The twist is one of the least sensible of its kind in recent memory, as there is nothing in the film, up to that point, to warrant such a move. Pretty much a terrible film.
Though the cast looks solid on paper, the acting here is quite bad. Everyone looks like they're just picking up a paycheck, from Sutherland, who looks bored, to Spacek, who's never been more shrill, to Rachel Hurd-Word, who attempts to do her best Linda Blair impression but ends up just screaming and staring around wide-eyed most of the time. The direction is absolutely abysmal, as all scenes with the spirit look incredibly amateurish with the swooping camera, and, for some reason, are shot in black and white. Although it's clear this was done with some foolish artistic idea in mind, it ends up standing out terribly and erases any small amount of suspense or tension that might have been built up. Most of the suspense, though, is destroyed by the absolutely atrocious editing, which is, at once, frustrating, annoying, and pointless. It all adds up to a lame excuse for a horror film.
The only thing that saves this from being a complete waste is that there are some cool visuals, and occasionally some decent cinematography. Other than that, though, this is an abomination of film, with terrible acting, dreadful directing, and awful editing. A complete waste of time.
Though the cast looks solid on paper, the acting here is quite bad. Everyone looks like they're just picking up a paycheck, from Sutherland, who looks bored, to Spacek, who's never been more shrill, to Rachel Hurd-Word, who attempts to do her best Linda Blair impression but ends up just screaming and staring around wide-eyed most of the time. The direction is absolutely abysmal, as all scenes with the spirit look incredibly amateurish with the swooping camera, and, for some reason, are shot in black and white. Although it's clear this was done with some foolish artistic idea in mind, it ends up standing out terribly and erases any small amount of suspense or tension that might have been built up. Most of the suspense, though, is destroyed by the absolutely atrocious editing, which is, at once, frustrating, annoying, and pointless. It all adds up to a lame excuse for a horror film.
The only thing that saves this from being a complete waste is that there are some cool visuals, and occasionally some decent cinematography. Other than that, though, this is an abomination of film, with terrible acting, dreadful directing, and awful editing. A complete waste of time.