This movie is a lot different than I thought it would be, which is a good thing. From the previews, it seems very much along the lines of an AMITYVILLE HORROR clone. It's not.
Sara Campbell (Virginia Madsen of THE NUMBER 23) is a mother who is dealing with her son Matt's (Kyle Gallner of VERONICA MARS, SMALLVILLE) cancer. He's up for a new type of treatment but the drive is extremely long there and back. So she decides to rent a huge old house, though her husband is reluctant. They are barely getting by financially as it is. Matt wants to have the basement as his room. One wall is completely covered by these locked wooden cabinets with blackened glass. They have no idea what's behind it--until the revelation at the end of the movie.Matt begins to have nightmares--and is haunted by the ghost of a kid, as well as these dead people who are covered in weird symbols. These ghosts are really creepy.
During his visits to the hospital Matt becomes friends with Reverend Popescu (Elias Koteas of THE PROPHECY), who knows he's dying of cancer. He's also able to see these ghosts since he's at the borderline between life and death. The Reverend wants to help them and put the spirits to rest. They ultimately discover that the house was originally a funeral home and that the owner's son was a clairvoyant who spoke to spirits. In fact, that's what's behind the locked doors in Matt's room--the room where they did the embalming.
Although the movie has a Hollywood ending that didn't bother me so much, as the rest of the movie is extremely dark and disturbing. Recommended.
This movie is a lot different than I thought it would be, which is a good thing. From the previews, it seems very much along the lines of an AMITYVILLE HORROR clone. It's not.
