Could have been better...

Rating: 5/10 (20 September 2006)

with Radha Mitchell and Alice Krige, and the obvious expenditures on cinematography, atmospheric effects, and talent, this film could have been much more.
It starts out very good, suspenseful, and had there been more story developed, it may have captured the imagination of a larger audience. That is, those of us who don't play video games.
It seems to be an unfortunate trend in Hollywood for the past few years, that re-makes stick to the same old formula, or try to mimic some of the very effective "Ring" series, "Ju-On" (Compare the original to the American version with Sarah Michelle Gellar-no contest).
The effects were good, and sometimes surprising. But this could have been so much better, had there been any effort put into plot or character development. Maybe next year. 5 gratuitous stars for a decent cast.