Good acting, bad writing.

Rating: 6/10 (22 February 2015)

I'd like to start by saying that the movie isn't bad. The acting is good, the tension, the realism - it's definitely a worthwhile thing. Even if the premise is pretty cliché, and the explanation is even more so - the movie isn't among the copycats or ripoffs. Although I wouldn't call it a horror. Thriller\Drama - yes. And absolutely no Sci-Fi. I believe King himself drew the line between Terror\Horror and other definitions. Well, "horror" being chilled to the very bone - does not fit the definition of this movie. Pathetic clichés of arachnophobia, tentacles, insectophobia, as well as amorphous things people could've been surprised at in 19th century - it just doesn't get the job done in 2000s. Maybe in games...
However, all of that is tolerable. It doesn't make the movie bad, it just doesn't make it outstanding.
What, for me personally, killed the "whole" impression of the movie - is the depiction of religion. There is a thin line between good acting\writing and just making the watching process so painful that you cringe. Browsing the internet\going to churches - that's one thing. But the movie is supposed to entertain, and boy was it painful to watch.
And then there was the ending. Well... it's fake. It's so damn fake I can't even describe it. Feels like the writers wanted to squeeze out every ounce of tears and drama from the viewers, they purposefully twisted it. The hero, throughout the "whole" movie, was fighting for logic, morale, was trying to save a person dying from burns, and sacrificing more people just for the sake of it. He saved everyone he could, he did everything he could... And in the end... he would just... Not spoiling it, if somebody will bear through this movie - they "have" to feel the stupid, stupid disappointment of this ending. That just doesn't make any sense at all. I'd be happy to give this movie 8\10, making it a bland, but very compelling thriller\horror. But with the religious overacting and the ending, I'm afraid I'd feel generous just by giving it 6.