So close, yet not quite there

Rating: 5/10 (28 July 2013)

I went into this movie with high hopes - I mean, an 85% from Rotten Tomatoes for a horror movie is just... wow.
From the get-go it's eerie. Throughout the movie, the pace often changes and the mood sweeps back and forth (I mean, you can't be having a freaking happy montage in the middle of a horror movie, it kills the mood). For the most part, this movie delivers the creeps and the subtle use of horror is fantastic. It really draws off of the older style of horror movies. I loved a lot of what this movie had to offer; however, the sloppy effects, poor makeup, and downright useless scenarios really took a toll.
The characters were pretty well-made. For once, there wasn't really a dumb character, but having five little girls in one family, plus one, is a bit over-the-top. I understand it's a big family, but they made the girls an afterimage in light of the more rounded adults. There were two characters who really didn't need to be in this movie - one a cop (who is there to deliver a few punchlines, but pretty useless) and the other the ghost of a maid who appears for maybe 5 seconds before never even being seen or mentioned again. Other than that, there are a couple lame performances that are hit and miss through the film.
A few of the effects are sloppy, including the cuts in the scenes with the montage and objects being thrown (a chair looks completely CGI, if I'm wrong, then it looks really bad regardless). The ghosts didn't really do it for me either. Ghosts in photographs looked great, costumes were great, and the detail on limbs were pretty decent, but seeing the faces of the ghosts in person looked like cheap, Halloween makeup.
I will say that the exorcism scene was one of the best exorcism scenes in cinema history that I've ever seen (I'd give The Exorcism a run for it's money). If anything, take that scene from the movie as it's best moment.
I understand that people are latching on to new horror movies, hoping for a horror genre comeback, but talking up this movie isn't the way to go about it. This obviously isn't perfect and doesn't deserve an 8/10. Maybe a 7, if you're being nice. I respect the performers, writers, the director, and producers, and horror is my favorite genre, but I have my opinions as well. I want the horror genre to succeed, and this movie is definitely a step closer to what we need. James Wan did a hell of a job, but there is still plenty where this movie could improve.
6/10