Not Perfect, But Nonetheless A Good Film

Rating: 9/10 (17 December 2009)

Obviously, there was a lot of hype surrounding this film. The trailer made it out to be some kind of terrifying film, more like the Sixth Sense than anything else. Many people expecting a horror were disappointed, and for good reason. The film is not a horror film. It's more like a period drama with elements of horror.
I had already heard about how horror fans were disappointed with it, and how the twist let some people down. I tried to watch it with an eye for what it's really about, but, in some ways, the fact that it never really had any climax of sorts to do with the horror aspect of it, or the relationship aspect of it, kind of let me down. That was the film's one problem: It didn't really make it's mind up about whether it wanted to turn scary or stick with it's original story.
Other than that, there are many redeeming qualities to it. The story is, on the whole, well written, and the acting is brilliant, just look at the cast list and see why. The cinematography is superb, plus the lighting, which will make you fear the colour red throughout the whole film. But I won't say any more about that. Plus, James Newton Howard's score was incredible, perhaps one of his best.
So, on the whole, it was a good film, but towards the end, it seems to go down the wrong path, and is a little disappointing. But still, 7 stars for a well captured and slightly spooky atmosphere, despite everything that I have said.