Reviews

Open your wallet. Take out a ten dollar bill. Rip it in half. This is how I felt after watching this movie. Take my advice. DO NOT SEE IT!!!

Going in to this movie, I had decided that it was going to be cheap and predictable, but fun anyways. I am not the cynical movie critic who blasts movies on their typical themes or plot lines, but this one left me stunned. I cannot believe that the casting, screenplay, and special effects on any Hollywood movie could be so terribly amiss.

Casting. In truth, this entire movie was impossible to believe because the acting was so pathetic. The mother seemed completely out of her league, rattling off transparent lines that were shallow but were made to be serious. The possessed boy had the same constipated look on his face the entire time, but his acting was not entirely to blame. Do not even get me started on the reverend. He was absolutely ridiculous. During every single one of his lines, I started laughing.

Plot. The ghost boy, Jonah, is a medium for seances conducted by an evil man who tries to augment his power by making him throw up a liquidy substance that is said to be the power of the dead. This death vomit is intended to be frightening. So he haunts the house, along with other dead people, for a reason that is to say the least, ambiguous and abstruse. A shaky, hurried plot is matched with horrid special effects to create the ultimate farce. If you find a burn victim flashing on the screen thirty times behind a character terrifying, then this is the movie for you.

Please do not waste your money. I go to the movies a lot, and I have learned to appreciate movies with little substance that still offer entertainment. This movie was not even able to attain that stature. Save your money, go rent something better.

I had been curious about this film because it had attained so much critical acclaim and because I wanted to see if it matched up to its reputation.

I was instantly captivated by the witty writing of this movie. The dialogue throughout the story is extremely riveting as it utilized chiaroscuro to mix the light and frivolous with the dark and twisted.

Alex's character is certainly an ambiguous figure as one has a hard time not liking him by the end of the movie despite his obscurely twisted motives. He conveyed a nightmare of a youth whose intentions were anything but moral. Without any sense of righteousness, Alex epitomizes the horrors of savage youth. He is every parent's worst nightmare, yet he manages to intrigue every sense in viewing of this film.

This was an extremely powerful movie. I will have to watch it at least two more times before I grasp all the minute details that contribute to the message. See this movie you and I guarantee that you will not be disappointed.