A good old fashion scare story

Rating: 7/10 (2 October 2007)

How refreshing it was to watch this movie and see filmmakers really keeping you on the edge of your seat through old school horror story telling.
Most horror movies you see these days rely on grossing you out in some way, through shock imagery and usually CGI. Most of them are a dismal disappointment.
I went into this movie expecting the same but thankfully what I got was great storytelling, and old fashioned scare tactics, with brief glimpses of what horrors have happened, and being left to imagine for myself how grizzly it is, or how scared I would be in the same situation.
The first hour zips along, and really keeps you intrigued, the set-up before he goes into the room really works well, John Cusak is a great lead and Samuel L. Jackson is very good in his role. The scene where he tries to capture the attention of someone in the opposite building across the road, and the air duct scene are other highlights.
The pace kinda of slows after the hour mark, and I was disappointed with the ending, but that was only because everything before was so good. All in all, great entertainment, and it just shows that good horror telling is keeping people guessing and showing glimpses of the unknown, not CGI gross outs.