Starts well, but kind of loses it's way in the second half

Rating: 4/10 (16 May 2013)

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning
Crime writer Ellison Oswalt (Ethan Hawke) moves his family, including wife Tracy (Juliet Rylance) and daughter Ashley (Clare Foley) to an area where a family were bizarrely murdered some time ago. He receives a hostile reception from the local police chief, and tests Tracy to the limits with his obsession and dedication to his work. But as he digs deeper in to the case, he uncovers things even he couldn't imagine.
Relative newcomer Scott Derrickson seems to have received quite a critical acclaim for his latest addition to the horror staple, and it's ravers do paint quite a convincing case for it. While it's far from the worst the genre has ever seen, I didn't find it quite a masterpiece.
As the story opens, it is genuinely intriguing, and has the potential to keep you on edge, but then it sort of goes on, and just descends in to your typical jump scare horror film, and has a monster called 'Mr. Boogie' you're expected to be scared of. **