Director: Dan Bush
Year: 2017
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: The Truth
Genre: Ghosts
Plot:
After taking on a supposedly easy job, a group of bank robbers arrives at a quiet Texas bank attempting to pull off a con due to a careful plan, yet the longer they stay there the more they come to believe the stories about the bank being haunted are true and must try to get out alive.
Review:
This is quite an enjoyable genre mash-up. The first half here, built around the intriguing idea of the heist at the bank, plays out as a decent enough crime thriller. The distraction from the local fire, the stalling with the customer complaining about the screwed-up account and the slow initialization of the plan featuring the group springing the ploy on everyone and taking over the bank with them taking hostages, corralling everyone and starting off the process of retrieving the money from within the safe. These scenes are a perfect lead-up to the discovery of the second vault underground which is filled with the usual banter involving them not wanting to hurt anyone as well as the trips down into the various levels of the bank forcing them to enact the usual series of sequences showing off their skills and professionalism. There's plenty to like here with this section of the film.
That sets up the wholly enjoyable second half where this turns into a stylish ghost story. The early exploits of the first half, where the story about the haunted banks' lower quarters due to the original heist, give this a sturdy foundation for the series of fun and at times chilling ghost encounters. Starting with the rather enjoyable attack in the vault where the slowly encroaching beings get closer to the oblivious worker trying to break inside during the radio blackout and being watched on video, the creepiness starts off and really doesn't finish once it's introduced. The fact that the group is supernaturally forced to carry out impressive tortures on them to generate some creepiness with how they spring on the hallucinations to bring that on is also chilling, and the continued inability to determine if the police are genuine is a rather creepy idea. As well, there's also the exceptionally fun and highly enjoyable finale that really has a lot going for it, from the action of the continuous chases all throughout the darkened corridors and the general scramble caused by the plans coming undone by the realization of what's going on, and with the final revelation twist coming into play there's a lot to like here.
There were a few flaws here. The biggest issue to be had here is the absolutely underwhelming and illogical plan for the heist that's being attempted here, as regardless of how effectively they pull it off the plan in conception is wholly flawed. The idea of relying on the fire being set and how long it will take to put it out seems rather foolish as the idea of the firefighters suddenly appearing in the bank looks incredibly suspicious, especially with the group now entering the building not having any effects of putting out the fire. That comes off even more suspiciously when nothing is wrong with them, and to rely on the expert timing of the interview to go on long enough and the distraction at the front desk to go for the same amount of time alongside the rest of the team taking over the rest of the bank. There's also the film's rather troubling issue of being so focused on the heist that it never really develops any kind of genuine horror atmosphere, even with the introduction of the earlier failed robbery and haunted vault which is the only time its brought up in this section. It really seems to come out of nowhere with the way it just drops the heist and brings the ghosts into the film without giving off any kind of clue what's going on and how the ghosts operate. There's very little information given out here for the most part alongside that lack of horror action, and overall these here really hold this one down.
Overview: ***1/2/5
With some rather big issues and some rather strong positives, the positive points here manage to hold this one up enough in order to give this enough to like overall. Give it a shot if you're intrigued by the genre mashup or looking for another type of ghost movie than the traditional haunted house, while those not sold on it by its flaws should heed caution.
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