Don't believe the hype. Extremely disappointing.

Rating: 4/10 (13 October 2009)

When I was buying my ticket for this movie, there was a kid who had just seen it at the counter asking for his money back. I figured he was just a crank, but I walked out agreeing with him.
I don't understand the hype around this extremely forgettable, not-very-scary movie. Somebody out there is obviously a top notch marketer, because this film doesn't deserve any sort of buzz whatsoever. I'm fine with low budget/low production values - I loved Blair Witch Project - and even very slow, subtle horror films that work more by what they don't show than what they do. But this movie is mostly long, drawn-out sequences of absolutely nothing happening. There's a lot of scenes of a couple arguing, though, if you find that scary.
There are a tiny handful of quick "jump out and say boo"-type scares, most of which you can see coming long in advance. No suspense is built, unless showing a stock campfire ghost- story trope every twenty minutes or so is enough to keep you on the edge of your seat for an hour and a half. I certainly heard many more people in the theater laughing at this film than sounding frightened. I was not scared or entertained, at all. It's just a poorly-told story.
I'm looking at this and hardly believing I find myself writing such a negative review, about anything... I love movies, and I really love horror movies. I have almost never seen a movie that really I thought wasn't worth paying money to see. But this was one of the most disappointing, least rewarding movie-going experiences I've had in a long time - and given the buzz, it was bad enough that I really felt I wanted to spread the word. If you're a horror buff, and heard this was the "scariest movie ever", prepare to be very disappointed.