Lifeless camera eye

Rating: 4/10 (6 February 2014)

This fails both in terms of writing and execution. It's a shame that innovation within the horror genre has been close to non-existent in the past couple of decades, especially in Hollywood. This is so simple and formulaic that it looks silly instead of scary.
We have a family where the dad and his son are able to travel from one reality to another during their sleep("astral projection"). At the end, the dad must battle his own repressed memories and fears to bring his son from the "dead".The writing had some of the essential structural elements for it to work. However, part of the problem for me here was that the "reality of the dead" was underdeveloped which made it difficult to believe and become invested in. The tension and the energy, that I saw glimpses of in "Saw", were absent as well. It seems that James has lost his way somewhat. Horror thrives on the synchronization of musical patterns with the dance of the camera eye. Unfortunately, the camera here is lifeless.
This made a lot of money. I wonder if the viewers will trust James next time. But yet again, I am not sure if we remember what a well-made horror movie looks like.
2/5 - Formulaic
P.S. I wrote this before the sequel came out.