Set in 1980 and starring one of my faves, Amanda Seyfried, the spooky premise of this movie snagged my attention and had me hoping for a good old-fashioned haunted-house/possession story similar to Amityville Horror. Did it deliver? Yes and no. While the premise was good and the movie started nicely, midway through it fell down the what-were-they-thinking rabbit hole and spiraled from there into a Dexter-esque ending that had me groaning and shaking my head.
When teacher George Claire relocates his artist wife Catherine and young daughter Franny to the Hudson Valley and into an historic farmhouse “with good bones,” the family members acclimate in different ways. While George is building his ego and stepping out as Professor Claire among the co-eds, Catherine notices aural lights and strong smells and poor Franny has a ghostly visitor and deals with a flashing lighted toy at night. Catherine begins to explore the house’s history with the help of locals and George’s seance-holding boss, but does so secretly because George is growing more deceitful, controlling, and disturbing by the day. As tensions mount, deaths begin to add up, and ghosts make themselves known, we wait to find out who–or what—will be left standing in the end.
- Top Scare: Spirit-related
- Heartbeats: 1 1/2 out of 5
- Gore Factor: 1 out of 5
- Scare Factor: 1 out of 5
- Recommended for: 15 and up