Creepy

Rating: 10/10 (12 August 2002)

I would watch this film all over again just to re-experience the feeling I had in the pit of my stomach. This was the creepiest sci-fi/thriller film (with the possible exception of Se7en) I have ever seen and I have been watching them for 45 years. There are a number of creepy scenes: (1) the claustrophobic scene which takes place in the closet of the Hess home, with the Hess family hunched over the television watching news footage of an alien invader - tres creepy, (2) the scene in which a dark form appears suddenly on the roof of the Hess barn in the camera's peripheral vison -- very creepy, (3) the sheer isolation of the Hess farmhouse -- creepy, (4) the isolation of Father Hess in the vet's home with an alien locked in the pantry -- stomach churning creepy, (5) the alien radio transmission on the baby monitor -- baby-stealing creepy. This film relies upon one device to maintain the thrill: an isolated person surrounded by an unseen dark force that doesn't reveal itself. The trick in making an effective monster/thriller flick - don't show the monster much and keep the special effects to a minimum becuase they're not needed and can be counter-productive. Just compare the original The Haunting to its remake to see this fact. Super super film.