Not scary: downright amazing.

Rating: 10/10 (27 April 2004)

I was influenced into watching this film after maybe the 100th listen to Mike Oldfield's masterpiece "Tubular Bells" (the full, 48-minute album, not the 4-minute edit!), which was used in this movie's soundtrack. I wasn't exactly frightened or scared by the movie. I was expecting something gory and gruesome in this movie, but oh, was I wrong. And that's good, because I don't like movies that are gratuitously gory and gruesome. This movie is anything but gratuitous. I wasn't scared, but I was amazed and fascinated by the atmosphere, intelligent story and masterful filmmaking. It feels really genuine, and there are maybe 2 or 3 movies I have seen that felt genuine. It's a beautiful story about faith, and deals with the "good vs. evil" scheme in an unusual way. There are so many layers to the story, it's difficult to discuss them all in one or two paragraphs. Suffice to say, all of those different elements come together seamlessly. The story is beautiful. The build up of tension is truly gripping. It is not scary, it's disturbing. Those looking for gory scarefests should look somewhere else. I was truly intrigued by the movie, and the glorious resolution was both shocking and uplifting. Did good defeat evil, after all? That's up for the viewers to decide.
A haunting movie, this is - especially for Mr. Oldfield, whose "Tubular Bells" would haunt him for 30 years.