This is a plodding movie. I thought about quitting it several times. It had a feel of a low-budget flick that could go no where at times. But, it had James Caan. Caan brings something, in my experience, to every role I've seen him in over the years. I think he was the reason I stayed with it.
Two teens with too much down time to which one is a off-center progenitor of the other who is the super nerdy rich type. It's that kind of combination that might spawn the next Apple or Charles Manson cult. Starting out in a kind of ignorant blind prank mode the two agree to pick on an old curmudgeon neighbor by wiring his house with audio and video bugs and throwing in some electronic disrupting devices for good measure. The darker, but much more charismatic, of the two, Ethan, wants to make a movie of an old man thinking he's being haunted by a poltergeist. The more vexed and nerdy one, Sean, gets reluctantly on-board. Ethan keeps pushing Sean to a more uncomfortable level as he sells the old man as being some kind of a monster who is up to something nefarious. As the movie progresses the emptiness, and the dark core, of Ethan begins to slowly come out.
As mentioned there were times I thought the movie plodded along so slowly, perhaps, I should give up. I mean James Caan's dialog in the whole affair was, maybe, ten sentences. But, Caan brings something to a role that I just want to watch. His Grainey character was a model of restraint making the man all the more mysterious. It was clear while he wasn't speaking volumes there were wheels spinning out inside of the man. It all culminates in a way I really didn't predict and looking at the character who is struggling at the end of a long journey it resonated. It put the two youths in perspective too with one being truly dangerous in the guise of cute smart ass with the other being the ultimate awkward follower. While this movie is only marginally good, it's better in it's the final sum which explores how sinister, even seemingly innocuous, choices can create a truly horrific outcome. There's a wanton smile right at the end that sums it all up amazingly well.
Two teens with too much down time to which one is a off-center progenitor of the other who is the super nerdy rich type. It's that kind of combination that might spawn the next Apple or Charles Manson cult. Starting out in a kind of ignorant blind prank mode the two agree to pick on an old curmudgeon neighbor by wiring his house with audio and video bugs and throwing in some electronic disrupting devices for good measure. The darker, but much more charismatic, of the two, Ethan, wants to make a movie of an old man thinking he's being haunted by a poltergeist. The more vexed and nerdy one, Sean, gets reluctantly on-board. Ethan keeps pushing Sean to a more uncomfortable level as he sells the old man as being some kind of a monster who is up to something nefarious. As the movie progresses the emptiness, and the dark core, of Ethan begins to slowly come out.
As mentioned there were times I thought the movie plodded along so slowly, perhaps, I should give up. I mean James Caan's dialog in the whole affair was, maybe, ten sentences. But, Caan brings something to a role that I just want to watch. His Grainey character was a model of restraint making the man all the more mysterious. It was clear while he wasn't speaking volumes there were wheels spinning out inside of the man. It all culminates in a way I really didn't predict and looking at the character who is struggling at the end of a long journey it resonated. It put the two youths in perspective too with one being truly dangerous in the guise of cute smart ass with the other being the ultimate awkward follower. While this movie is only marginally good, it's better in it's the final sum which explores how sinister, even seemingly innocuous, choices can create a truly horrific outcome. There's a wanton smile right at the end that sums it all up amazingly well.