Lame and unfrightening movie

Rating: 5/10 (7 April 2005)

Is this movie supposed to be for kids? Not once during the whole movie was I scared. Is this supposed to be a horror movie? It looked more like a marriage drama. The whole time I was hoping for someone to get killed, because that's what usually happens in horror movies. I had to wait until the last 15 minutes of the movie for this to happen. And only one person got killed, what a disappointment! All the time I was rooting for Johnny to kill his wife and kid. She seemed like a crazy woman from hell. Without any reason she started to beat on him with a baseball bat. Okay, he had some mental problems, but he hadn't hurt anyone. She was acting like a lunatic, and should be locked up. Or better, she should have been killed, because she practically killed him by knocking him down the stairs. Shelley Duvall's acting performance as the wife was dreadful, by the way. The boy also seemed to be suffering from autism or something, because at no time he was acting like a normal kid. He seemed like a mental patient escaped from an institution. No wonder Johnny got a little insane, with a wife and kid like that, I would be going crazy also. It is never explained why Johnny became a little unstable in the first place, but I guess that must be the reason. It only seems normal, any guy would do the same. Jack Nicholson was the only saving factor that stopped me from totally tearing this movie to pieces. He was a delight to watch and is truly a fine actor. Unfortunately he can only do so much, and he saves the movie from being a total flop.