Director: Kevin Greutert
Year: 2015
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Supernatural
Plot:
After opening a winery with her husband, a woman starts to believe that her sightings of a strange ghost on the property are more than just signs of her stressful pregnancy and begins to dig into the troubled past of the location unraveling a more dangerous conspiracy than she ever imagined.
Review:
For the most part, this one wasn't all that bad. One of the more enjoyable aspects to this one is a series of exceptionally creepy sequences that showcase the supernatural antics in action. The early scenes that start to hint something is going on, from the freakout in the living room during the dinner party that no one else witnesses to the frantic nightmare she has about being covered in blood around her stomach before thinking the various armatures of the bedding are coming for her which start this one off rather nicely. The fact that these are tied together involving her burgeoning pregnancy, including the more receptive state she's in because of that which allows her other freakouts to have a far more pronounced weight to them that adds an extra touch to the film. By giving this a decidedly rational reasoning for why she might be having these visions and experiences in the form of her hormones being off-kilter because of the pregnancy, there's a decidedly fine overview here that brings this into quite creepy setups at times.
That carries over into the fine investigation that takes over most of the film. With the desire to understand why she's being attacked and tormented so frequently in the house, the idea of investigating the various incidents at the house in the past sparks the usual series of investigations into the area. Finding the usual assortment of articles detailing the potential targets as to what happened as well as the series of incidents with her psychic friend, there's enough of a build-up here to generate a rough sense of what's happening rather nicely which is what fuels the fine later half here. Detailing the psychics' attempts to reach out and put an end to everything which just furthers the idea of the tormented house with the final series of evidence in her discovery of the previous attacks that occurred there and then finally putting the entire puzzle together with their true intentions is a fine setup for the finale where it really has plenty to like with the action present.
The cast here is certainly appropriate for this kind of supernatural tale. Isla Fischer as Eveleigh Maddox is the stereotypical plucky woman thrust into something far more dangerous through her inquisitive nature and determined nature which is quite an endearing combination. The added sense of her being pregnant gives us a secondary tactic to enjoy about her as she gets thrown around a lot and overall carries herself nicely. Her husband Anson Mount as David initially appears to be the traditional unsupportive and jerk boyfriend/husband that tries to convince her she's crazy and play-off everything for his own needs, yet has a fantastic last-half twist turns him around from not being that unsympathetic cliche. As well, with Eva Longoria, Jim Parsons and Joanna Cassidy appearing in brief roles, there's a nice sense of professionalism throughout here and gives this enough to hold itself up over its minor flaws.
One of the biggest issues with this one is the fact that there's just nothing really extraordinary about the idea presented here. It really boils down to a stereotypical case of strangers moving into a new house and experiencing supernatural actions that only she believes, causing those around her to believe she's crazy. That's all too familiar and doesn't really stand out at all from what's going on in other films, resulting in a wholly generic supernatural effort hitting all the tropes of her hysterical pleading and dead-set determination that something's going on that everyone keeps ignoring as all the attacks are happening to here. It's all pretty similar and doesn't change things up much, which that's not helped at all by the entire lack of gore in the attacks here. The other issue here is the fact that the finale's twist drops all the supernatural antics and goes straight for the more humanistic twist that really doesn't do much for the previous action in the film. Otherwise, there isn't much wrong here.
Overview: ***/5
While it's certainly a somewhat generic and not entirely that original effort, that it's not overly boring or offensive in most other regards is enough to hold this one up as a better-than-expected effort in that regard. Give it a shot if you're a fan of these kinds of efforts or appreciate the kind of story told here, while those looking for something more substantial or original than a run-of-the-mill supernatural effort should heed caution.
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