A magnificent and ancient house is bought up for redevelopment by a young couple hoping to sell it along and make their fortune. The couple arrive at the house with the father’s young daughter struggling to come to terms with her new step mother and their spooky new abode, and then there’s the whispering coming from the walls, and the hidden basement littered with human teeth. All is not well, and things are about to get a lot worse. Stop me when this sounds familiar won’t you?
Guy Pearce and Katie Holmes lead the cast as the housebound couple and Bailee Madison does well as Pearce’s daughter and the focus of the nastiness which ensues. It’s no great leap to realise that she is the one who unleashes the trouble and the early scenes are well handled with the introduction to the house and its occupants (both past and present) clear and uncomplicated. Early on, though, the film finds itself on very comfortable rails and doesn’t once divert from the path we all expect it to. It’s a ghost story set in a dark, dark house. and you’ve seen this one many times before.
Though beautifully shot there’s very little on offer here in Troy Nixey’s uneven horror movie. The bare bones may have the signature of Guillermo del Toro but they are built and move in such a pedestrian manner that no amount of dimly lit set pieces and scissor-weilding scampering gremlins allow this film to penetrate and get under your skin. Horror fans will know exactly how the film plays out and none of the natural expectations are exceeded nor subverted. The child/stepmother dynamic only offers up one surprise at the film’s end, when the film finally (though too late) finds its teeth.
Re-telling a familiar story is not the problem here. The pervading sense of fear which is necessary evaporates with every new incident, with the creatures, once revealed, never posing the threat they need to. The dark history of the house is set up in the first scene and Katie Holmes’ rapid discovery of it towards the end of the film seems to jar with the bovine pace of the narrative; as the story enters its final act I was already hoping that the creatures would run riot over the whole house so we could finish up. Even the creature designs, often one of the highlights of a del Toro film, seem uncertain.
The 15 rating also places the film in uneven territory. The 12A and PG-13 rating are far more suited to a film of this nature, and the film keeps a foot on either side of the rating divide and satisfies neither. Placed alongside the simple majesty of Pan’s Labyrinth, or del Toro’s other work – even The Orphanage which del Toro exec-produced, the film feels misguided, bloodless and unable to raise a smile nor a hair on the back of your neck.
Don’t be afraid of the dark? Ok.
[Rating:1.5/5]
Extras
This is actually a little depressing. Throughout the entire film there is the creeping feeling that there was once a finer film to be had here and the extras on the disc which deal with the thoughts and inspirations behind the film, as well as the beautiful artwork, give us a clue to what the film could have become. Alas there’s no obvious reason evident here as to why the film fell so flat.
