very good twist on some horror-thriller conventions

Rating: 10/10 (16 October 2002)

This is a surprisingly good horror film. Very creepy.
This is not a typical slasher film and cheap thrills horror movie. The plot makes sense and moves along and you get to know why the characters are acting as they do. One of the best parts is that it turns several cliche scenes around and doesnt present them in the same way. In an early scene a female charecter opens a a fridge door and pours a drink, the scene is set up for something to happen to her right then as a lesser directer would have, however here it just serves to build tension. The are several nice twists and turns in the movie following this, and a nice surprise ending, following following a very nicely done false finish.
The movie is shot were every scene has a sort of griminess and darkness to it, which really raises the creepyness of the plot to a new level. My only complaint is that the actress in the opening scenes did not seem to really mesh. I also got the feeling somewhere that this movie was Rosemary's Baby 2. but maybe that is just me. The acting in my opinion, especially of the star Naomi Watts, really improves as the movie rolls along.
Overall very well done and far better than most.