Creepy horror films aren’t really my thing, either, but since they constitute so much of what is being produced these days, I’ll be seeing and reviewing some from time to time.  This one was a surprise hit last year, thanks to its wacky premise, some innovative advertising and good word-of-mouth.  I wish I could report that the film was worth all of that effort.  It’s not at all bad, it just cannot deliver the frights that it promises.

Parker Finn’s suspense thriller follows therapist Dr. Rose Cotter (Susie Bacon), who is so traumatized by witnessing the suicide of a new patient that she begins to see things herself which she cannot explain.  Within a few days she begins to believe she is cursed, and her life completely unravels.  Then she seeks help, and things go from bad to worse.

I appreciate the effort which writer-director Finn puts into the project, from the impressive camera trickery to the gradual emergence of the pattern which explains what is actually happening.  And yet . . . it frustrates me to distraction when viewers catch on to story twists early on and have to wait a half hour or more for the characters to catch up to what we already know.  That’s a great deal of wasted time.  And then the doctor’s solution is so lame-brained as to be laughable (sure, let’s go, alone, to the remote cabin where your mother committed suicide, to face your fears).  And then the evil entity reveals itself, and it’s ludicrous.  (This reminded me of Poltergeist, which was terrifying for an hour, right up to the moment when the explanation for everything was revealed and the horror of not knowing was removed from the equation).

Logic just isn’t part of this story as it races toward its fiery conclusion.  I didn’t much care for Sosie Bacon’s performance, either (the doc seemed insecure and troubled before she started seeing things), and I just don’t get the motivation for the entity.  What does it get out of all this death and mayhem?  This stuff just doesn’t hold up under close scrutiny, in my opinion.  But if you do like this story, there’s sure to be a sequel one of these days.  ☆ ☆.  23 December 2023.