A terrific surprise (in more ways than one).

Rating: 10/10 (10 August 1999)

Going into this movie, I was a little upset to realize at the last second that it was PG-13. It turns out, this added to my enjoyment much more walking out of the theater knowing that such a terrific film, and such a deeply frightening one had been done at that level. And it was perfect. If it had anything that would earn it an R, it would have ruined the effect.
On to the actual movie. More than anything, the less you know about this movie the better, and the trailers are particularly unhelpful in this respect by giving away something that you're not supposed to immediately know (They also portray the movie as being horribly cheesy in my opinion, but hopefully in 10 years no one will remember the trailer and will remember the movie). So I won't say anything about the plot, except that I found it engaging, well paced, and well written; though to state it that way is to make it clinical in a way it really doesn't deserve.
Bruce Willis and the kid both turned in great performances (Bruce Willis can really act when he has a good character), and Tak Fujimoto's cinematography was perfect. The lighting was perfectly called for, and of a style rarely seen, and the occasional use of a handheld camera was far from being the recent trendy attempts at "realism", but instead brought intimacy (something the movie successfully creates as a whole as well).
I ended up walking out of the theater and turning to the person I saw it with and simply saying "Grand slam." Why? Because it slammed me with clever fright beats? Or had witty dialog? Or a clever hook? None of these. It simply accomplished everything that it set out to accomplish perfectly, without ever seeming over the top, trying too hard, losing steam, or relying on effects. That type of solid film-making is rarely rewarded and hard to find.
And oh yes. It's very scary.