Solid, All the Way (Except for the Ghosts)

Rating: 9/10 (27 October 2013)

What makes this film great is that it builds on old-fashioned cinema values usually tossed out in horror movies. No stupid behavior from the characters. No gratuitous scenes. Believable reactions, as in the marvelous moment when the mom, scared but searching the home, yells at whatever is rattling around. Add stylish filmmaking and Bathsheba, and you're good to go. Beyond this, Wan is beginning to expand what horror can be - basically, and I've always felt this, it's a genre in which all other genres can exist. Put another way, it's simply drama when it's done well, as solid story and characters evolve and confront shifting realities. Lecture done. Let me just end by saying how much I loved and appreciated - at last! - an ending not ambiguous.