A below-average, washed-up wannabe psychological horror film

Rating: 4/10 (29 September 2007)

Usually when one comes across this film, their very first initial reaction is "Jim Carrey in a horror movie? Er..." Nevertheless they are still compelled to see it. As was I--but given the absolutely dreadful reviews "The Number 23" reeled in from distinguished film critics, I decided it wasn't worth my time and probably was just another lame excuse for a psychological horror film made in 2007. But today I decided, what the heck--we'll see if it's bad or good, as I paid a rough $4 at the Blockbuster counter to rent it.
The Number 23 is a psychological horror film that deals with a man named Walter Sparrow (Carrey) whose wife gets him an old book entitled "The Number 23," which is about a sketchy detective named Fingerling who had a life filled with tragic loss, false love, murder, and above all, an unnatural obsession with the number 23. As Walter reads the book, he notices more and more striking similarities between him and the character, and it gets to the point where the number 23 becomes his central life figure as well, and slowly he believes he is transforming into the character that he thinks is a paper replica of himself.
Pretty weak storyline, eh? Yeah, I thought so too. Fortunately the film keeps itself on its feet (sort of) through skilled directing and editing, decent acting, an eerie atmosphere, a well-written screenplay, and just the sheer excitement of watching Jim Carrey in a role that is completely polar opposite of Lloyd in "Dumb and Dumber." Some scenes are extremely intense and shocking in a good way, ways that'll make you pull the blanket up to your chin, and eagerly await what happens next.
Other times you just want to go to bed. What is unfortunate about the movie is that the bad far outweighs the good. The decently-structured film is overrun and overkilled by extremely graphic and gratuitous sex scenes (75% of which really weren't necessary), laughably over-dramatic moments, and a ridiculously clichéd, washed-up "twist" that you didn't see coming because it's just so absurd in the first place. Many of the "freaky" references to the number 23 dealing with history are also factually incorrect.
Overall, it is quite obvious this film was a failed attempt at being a remembered Hitchcock-style psychological horror film and while it was an entertaining watch, I can't help but feel cheated out of that $4 I spent today.
I await the next great modern psychological horror film since "Saw."