If you liked The Haunting, Blair Witch Project, The Changeling etc...

Rating: 8/10 (1 November 2009)

I prefer horror movies and ghost stories that are about something that isn't tangible. Movies like that force our imagination to run wild and leave you feeling like a raw nerve up until the climax when you get the payoff - a big scare and (sometimes) a revelation about the being itself.
Anyone who's lived in an old, creaky house during their childhood will probably remember getting scared by noises, a tap on the window or a dark figure in the corner. Of course, there was nothing there but the feeling you had then was a sort of helpless terror. A feeling triggered by an over-active imagination, a belief in ghosts and a primal fear of the dark.
OK, I'll stop with my personal gushing over how scary my pathetic childhood was but I wanted to explain why I personally found this movie so scary. Sure there are no big scares until the end but you can feel the tension go up a few notches each time it switches to those god damned night-vision shots.
It's definitely not a flawless movie but it's simplicity is endearing and (if it hadn't been for the obnoxious viral marketing campaign) I would have given it a higher score. I loved it but this was one of the most over hyped movies of the decade and that ruined it for a lot of viewers.
It doesn't really matter, though. In the end, you'll either love it or hate it. Just watch it alone, with the lights out, in a creaky house and see how long it takes you to fall asleep that night.