A good film spoilt

Rating: 6/10 (20 August 2012)

I really wanted to like this film more than my score would suggest, and indeed I did. Radcliffe was excellent as was the ever-reliable Ciaran Hinds. The film looked great, and the location was well-chosen. The film built tension very well at the start, conjuring the sense of creeping dread found in M.R. James' scarier works; the script was deft, and I thoroughly settled in, looking forward to a good scare. Except...well...it all went a bit wrong. The overuse of jump-scares that really should be left to Youtube reaction videos was my first gripe, but the sourest note was struck by a deeply unsatisfying ending that seemed to arrive too early, and just left me hanging, wondering "Was that it?"; my wife felt much the same. Overall, I was left with the feeling that a potentially great film had been missed.