Ruined by the Hype

Rating: 2/10 (23 November 2009)

This is the typical example of a movie wherein too much hype actually ruins the watcher's movie experience. So much fuss had been raised about the excellent word of mouth, and how it propelled this movie to top the US movie charts during the Halloween season. Some reviews even called it the best horror movie out there. Of course, with all these in mind, we go in with very high expectations, hoping to be scared out our seats.
Unfortunately, I have to disagree with the hype given this movie. There was no real horror in this very roughly-made film. The concept was like "The Blair Witch Project." Boyfriend Micah uses a hand-held camera to track the ghost that is haunting his live-in girlfriend Katie as they sleep. Good thing was it wasn't as dizzying than "Blair Witch" (a movie that I could not keep my eyes on in its last half hour to vertigo from trying to watch it). But bad thing is, like "Blair Witch," it was much ado about nothing at all.
All those daytime scenes only show the couple discussing or arguing about what happened the night before. In short, definitely fast-forward-able. In those night scenes, you literally watch the clock tick while waiting something scary to happen. These may give an uneasy feeling but not all those waiting times were so rewarded with something substantial. Several events (some actually quite interesting) do not really lead to anything.
I think this movie would be best watched alone, in the house, in the dark, unhurried (the best conditions). Only then can this movie effectively deliver its goods. It is all about proper atmosphere and attitude while watching which will make this movie work.