This movie stays with you...

Rating: 8/10 (30 January 2005)

The weirdest thing: this movie is not all that scary. Well, it is. But not the "scary" that most American audiences expect, with decomposed-faced ghosts popping up, grabbing your ankle, weird noises in the wall. Nope, this ghost hardly makes any appearances at all. There are one or two jump scenes, but nothing that will really freak you out. What makes this movie so scary is the sense of impending doom, like a black raincloud hanging over your head, ready to burst any minute. It's the kind of fright that hasn't been successfully made since The Sixth Sense or even Psycho. Hardly anything is shown, but everything else is shoved in your face to make you think that you saw everything that you didn't really see. And that's what gives you nightmares.
What's also creepy is that it's not your everyday plot: psycho killer on the loose, or even boy who can see ghosts. No, this plot has been weaved and woven to the point where only those with enough patience are able to sit down and unknot the plot until they can go "oh! now I get it...." but just like fractions, that's not the end. There's back story and after story and clever twists and turns and meatballs every now and then.
So if you're interested in a good psychological ghost thriller, grab a trustworthy pet to cuddle and a glass of water and, contrary to what many critics say, watch it alone! It's juicier that way and will have you leaping backward away from your television set faster than you can say "seven days."
My take: 8/10