Great atmosphere but disappointing story

Rating: 5/10 (5 February 2012)

After reading all the good reviews here a friend of mine and I set out to see this. In the mood for a good horror film we were expecting a dark, scary film that would really make us jump out of our seats or cover our eyes.
This didn't happen as much as anticipated. If you've ever seen "The Others" with Nicole Kidman or "The Innocents" with Deborah Kerr you know what a good, old fashioned haunted house film can be. You don't need any fancy CGI or special effects. What you do need is a solid story that people can relate to. This film doesn't have that.
We were disappointed. Yes, there are a couple of creepy moments but it was more like riding one of those carnival rides that the car moves through on a track with animatronic, robot figures jumping out in front of you with loud screeching sound effects.
The sets are beautiful and I suppose the acting is OK although it was no stretch for Radcliff to play this role. I would think that people who don't like scary films would probably find this unnerving but for the rest of us this was a disappointment. The story just doesn't make much sense.