Glaring Problems with Plausibility Stop this Being Scary

Rating: 3/10 (4 April 2010)

To start with the bottom line, it wasn't scary at all! Now this isn't because I'm hard - I had to turn off the television during "Wrong Turn". And I am usually good at being able to suspend disbelief in order to become immersed in a film. But there were problems with this film that prevented me being absorbed, so I could not have an emotional reaction to it.
The scenes are very repetitive. Text appears telling us the "night number". Then there are six seconds of silence while they sleep with the room quite brightly lit (I couldn't do that - I need blackout blinds and all lights off). Then the ghost starts making a noise. In later scenes it does a bit more. I couldn't stop asking myself why the ghost is pacing himself - why not polish her off on night #1? If he's going to leave teeth marks, why not go for broke? There is no depth to the plot. We are never told why Katie spends her life being followed around by a ghost. Neither Katie nor Micah spend any time trying to find out. Nor do they try to protect themselves. They don't lock the bedroom door or even shut it. They don't lose sleep over it, so why should we? Compare this to "The Hills Have Eyes". There we have nuclear weapons testing and McCarthy era paranoia as a foundation to give the human drama real depth. And the characters react realistically to the perils as they arise.
The acting is good "in the small" in that Katie acts the part of the hysterical female convincingly and realistically. But when Katie complains about the camera we know that she won't be getting her way because then there would be no movie. The house is unrealistically uncluttered, brand new and spotlessly clean. I found out from the special features on the DVD that the house had been remodelled for the movie with for example, upmarket banisters. I think it looked too expensive and luxurious for the youngsters.
The "filmed-by-the-characters-in-the-plot" format may be acting as a constraint here. It worked well in "Blair Witch Project" and "Cloverfield" but here it is all too obvious. By the time Micah is sprinkling powder around to check for footprints, the ghost has already demonstrated intelligence, physical powers, and control over Katie's mind. It isn't believable that Micah would think the ghost would not be able to either leap over the powder or sweep up after him.
And the format is not so new after all - check out "The Ghost Camera" 1933!