Does NOT Live up to the Hype

Rating: 4/10 (28 March 2015)

I am completely disappointed in this movie...especially after all the great reviews. I rarely write reviews, but if I can save one other person from being as disappointed as I was, then the time spent is worth it. First of all, the synopsis here and in other places online is an outright LIE>" ...But after a seemingly innocent sexual encounter, she finds herself plagued by strange visions and the inescapable sense that someone, something, is following her."
SPOILER: She doesn't have strange visions or an "inescapable sense..." blah blah blah. She knows RIGHT AWAY what is going on because the guy she has sex with ties her up and exposes it to her right away, explaining what is happening and telling her what to do to get rid of it. So this intimation that there's all this suspense in trying to figure out the mystery is bull.
Secondly, the loving long shots of scenery were fine in the beginning but they got REALLY old after a while. Please see The Ring to find out how this SHOULD be done to add to the atmosphere of a film.
Third, the score that everyone is raving about is loud, amateurish and distracting. It doesn't enhance the film at all. It's inappropriately "fun" in several scenes and has no obvious theme. Comparing it to John Carpenter's work is a laugh. More like Napoleon Dynamite. No, wait..that's an insult to Napoleon Dynamite.
Fourth, what freaking year is this supposed to be? All of the appliances...TVS, radios, phones, electric TYPEWRITERS, are straight out of the 70s, yet once character has an e-reader or a cell phone or whatever that clamshell things is supposed to be. Again, these anachronisms don't add to the aura...they are just distracting. I kept thinking.."Was this movie filmed in some country where they don't have modern things?"
Last, it WAS NOT SCARY. There were a few cheap jump-in-your-seat moments, but the idea of someone walking toward me who might hurt me but can't walk fast is really dumb. Just exactly what does it DO? We see the results of one such encounter at the very beginning, but aside from the weirdo SPOILER mom character having sex with her dead son, I can't figure out how she killed him. STUPID.
I wish I'd stayed home and watched THE RING instead. Don't waste your time.