OK, but not the movie it pretends to be

Rating: Null/10 (11 August 1999)

What I liked: the performances are excellent, especially the actor playing the boy. He is totally convincing in every scene -- a true rarity for someone his age. He deserves watching. If his performance hadn't been true, the movie would have collapsed. I also liked some of the atmosphere and the basic premise of the film.
What I didn't like: the movie previews made this seem to be a scary ghost film. While it does have its moments, it is more of a mawkish soap opera about Willis' character. The story moves excruciatingly slowly. And one more thing that bothers me: the story was done years ago on an old TWILIGHT ZONE or ONE STEP BEYOND. Ironically, it was better in the original because they took only 1/2 hour or hour to tell the story, while here they drag it out to almost two hours.
It's an interesting psychological study, but as a ghost story it is just too sluggish.