Over-hyped, Style Over Substance

Rating: 6/10 (10 June 2018)

Could not wait to see this movie. Went went other horror fans, BIG disappointment. At the end of the movie there was a mix of folks laughing, exclaiming disappointment.... full discussions with strangers broke out, pretty much everyone in a packed theater agreeing that what we had just watched was not the experience we were promised. Who is writing these reviews? Not horror fans. Not "real" people.
***Warning, might contain spoilers***
Great cast, Toni Collette could almost save this movie singlehandedly....almost. It is atmospheric, it is tense, the phrase "slow burning " has been SO overused to describe this movie. It got boring, yes boring, not slow burning, boring.
Foreshadowing abounds, the mother's necklace, the utility pole, the book. A discussion in class about characters having free will or being "puppets" or dolls, moved about with no hope....a tie in with the miniatures / doll houses that Toni Collette's character creates.
The horror genre by it's very nature dictates some suspension of rational behavior, this movie takes it to another level. A child with severe allergies and hinted at developmental issues without an epi pen, a fatal accident where no police are involved, a husband who doesn't trust his wife because she tried to kill their children while sleepwalking, but has no problem with her going to sleep somewhere else.... Someone tries to kill my kids, at bare minimum I am going to watch that person like a hawk.
Overall I just felt like the movie never got started and 2/3's of the way through, the movie passed the tipping point and could not pull it together.
Atmospheric, yes. Some great acting, yes. A few scares, sure. As terrifying as the buzz? Not even close.