Made on the cheap...and it shows

Rating: 6/10 (25 July 2014)

I love to savor a really good horror movie. This was neither "very good" (although it was "okay"), nor worth savoring; it was "watchable".
First off, the actors. I'll give some high points to a supporting actress -- Diane Gordon -- who plays an archivist. At least she was interesting. And, I think Megan Charpentier is probably developing into a rather good child actress. As for the rest -- they do their jobs and nothing more. Jessica Chastain is a promising young actress...usually.
As to the special effects...well, let's put it this way: the film cost a whopping $15 million to make (wish print allowed obvious sarcasm)...and it shows. And to cover up the cheapness they did much of the "scariest" part of the film in the dark (yawn). The doctor going out into the deep woods in the middle of the night...that makes no sense. And when he gets in the cottage...which has no electricity...it's not quite dark enough to hide the cheap special effects, so they have his flashlight fail. Oh my. Really pathetic.
As to the story itself, Marlon Brando probably would have said, "It could been a contenda!" It doesn't have the true suspense of "The Conjuring" or the class of "The Woman In Black". That's not to say it doesn't have its moments; it does have some good moments...but the suspense is not sustained. A few times I wanted to laugh when I was supposed to be scared.
Two things are interesting about the film. First, it got decent reviews, but somewhat low numbers here on IMDb. Second after spending just $15 million to make the film, it took in $156 million. Not a bad take for not a great film. I guess there's just a lot of horror lovers out there who will take in whatever comes along.