Poor effects, not scary - disappointing

Rating: 4/10 (31 October 2009)

There was some hype around this film being 'scariest of the decade', and I expected much from this director. However, the opening scenes ultimately set the tone for the rest of the film - the only thing shocking were the CGI effects. I admit there were a few jumpy moments, but they were too deliberate, obvious, and predictable. The scenes with the gypsy woman were pretty creepy and could have offered more, but the rest of the film was more supernatural than scary. Even the gross vomiting in the mouth scenes were a let-down; the character just got up and acted like nothing had happened - missed opportunity to maximise the impact there. As is usual with so many CGI movies, the effect loses impact, and it is particularly ineffective for a horror movie - because it does not look real, it is not scary.