disappointing and not as advertised

Rating: 1/10 (5 August 2004)

M. had said in an Entertainment Weekly interview that this was primarily a love story. He is right. The distributor of this film is guilty for trying to sell it as a creepy thriller. It is very dull, and not scary. For pluses, the twist is cute and Howard and Hurt give great performances. But this film was VERY dull. I said it before with SIGNS. He needs oversight. The lapses in logic, the plot holes, and the bad dialogue need to be fixed and until studios are willing to pressure M. into working with others, we will see more great story ideas being ruined by shoddy storytelling. Lastly, this would have made a great drama had we known the twist going in and watched as the Elders struggled. He doesn't always have to make scary movies. This should never have been made as one and certainly never been marketed as one.