This haunted house movie starring Daniel Radcliffe is well-made but I just really didn’t go for it. I guess I’m just a little worn out by this type of thing but I will say there are many worse ways you could spend your money this month.
What Works: The movie has an eerie, relentlessly creepy vibe that starts off slow but gradually gets more intense and by the time Radcliffe is spending the night by himself in the haunted mansion, I was appropriately nervous. [I know others will say the movie didn’t scare them at all but they always say that no matter how scary the movie is and it’s always a lie.] And the title ghost’s m.o. (killing children because of something that happened to her in life) is pretty ballsy since almost all horror movies spare children.
What Doesn’t Work: I can’t exactly put my finger on why but I just didn’t really like this movie. Sometimes, you can think a movie is well-made, well-acted, has a surprising ending, and for whatever reason just feel unmoved by it. I wish I could better articulate why this movie only gets a C+ when it probably deserves better but I guess I just feel like if you’ve seen one movie like this, you’ve seen them all no matter if this one is superior to most.
What I Would Have Done Differently: I’m definitely the wrong person to ask since I feel this movie does almost everything right but still isn’t good enough. On the one hand, it’s obviously superior to a vampire video game flick like Underworld but on the other hand, it’s still basically an overgrown movie for children as it revolves around a ghost/vampire/superhero/serial killing maniac/werewolf or anything else with CGI. I guess I’m just ready to see more movies for adults or that don’t require a special effects budget.