Haunter
Tags: boring, flashback

Plot synopsis:
Lisa Johnson, the ghost of a teenage girl who becomes aware that she is dead, haunts a house somewhere in northern Ontario. Along with her parents and brother, who are unaware that they are dead, she is stuck on the same day they were murdered in 1985. As she becomes more aware of her circumstances, she realizes that she can make contact with people in other timelines. As she explores this ability, a pale man appears and warns her to stop. Undeterred, Lisa uses personal items from other people killed in the house to make a connection with Olivia, part of a family living in the house in the future who will become the next set of victims.
With the help of Olivia and the spirits of other murdered girls, Lisa is transported into the timelines of other victims and unravels the mystery of the house, realizing that the previous resident of the house, Edgar Mullins, is possessing the fathers of the families who live in the house to continue his serial murders. She causes her family to come to terms with the knowledge that they are dead, and thus "awakened" they become able to assist her. After her family escapes to the afterlife, Lisa stays behind to stop Edgar. She is nearly trapped in Olivia's body as Mullin moves on to kill them, but Lisa is able to escape him long enough to summon the spirits of Mullin's past victims, delaying his next kill long enough for the spirits of his other victims to join her. As Mullin is 'incinerated' in the furnace where he killed his own victims, Olivia's father retakes control of his body, confused about what just happened. After assuring him and Olivia that they will be a happy family again, Lisa goes to sleep, but awakens with her family on her birthday, out of the loop that Mullin trapped them in.

Review: Despite a great try for being different from all the other ghost films, Haunter fails at his most important task, being scary.
The presence of Abigail Breslin (Zombieland, Little Miss Sunshine) is interesting, but I found the mum and the dad to be the true great actors in that film (the dad played in Saw VI and Silent Hill Revelations 3D).
Yes, it may be cheesy at times, a tad bit confusing, could use more frights, but does NOT disappoint.It starts as a horror, ends the same, delivers with quite an impressive story, good acting, good characters, nice mood and a terrific performance by Stephen McHattie.
It's a great movie to watch it with your girlfriend, or with friends, cracking your head trying to figure what's going one, see who manages to break the ice.Anyway, words are useless this time, it's up to you to get your hands on Haunter and press play.
But if you're either not into that or want it to be scarier or even more like other recent horror movies, you might find yourself really disappointed by it.I had no idea what the actual story would be, so I was guessing at times, where this was going (especially at the beginning).
I'm glad i decided to actually watch it.Haunter takes your typical ghost story and does a complete refreshing twist to it.I did get lost a few times,but quickly caught back up on what was going on.The acting was incredibly good for a indie film,and the story was super engaging.I was always on the edge of my chair the whole movie.I highly recommend everyone to at least rent this movie and give it a chance if you're a fan of the thriller genre.I really most certainly be checking out the directors other movies as well seeing how I loved splice as well.This guy is quickly becoming one of my favorite directors.
Abigail Breslin plays the depressed, moody teen Lisa Johnson who doesn't understand why her life is not going the way she wants it to.
"Haunter" reminds me of the creepy movies filmmakers used to make that use atmosphere, suspense, and mood to tell the audience the story they are trying to film..
They bothered to sit down and write a story, before they started filming.Leads you along nicely, and the reveals are unrolled one by one in a timely fashion.The performances are all good, which is nice to see; not a bad act among them.The villain is excellently creepy, and the way the turmoil of the film builds up is gripping.Another pleasant little...
Still don't get me wrong, it has its own developments, and I personally liked the way Vincenzo Natali delivers moody look, creative frames, and elaborated sets in a very contrast to minimalistic Cube.To sum up: a solid 6/10 - not impressive but very fair dish for ghost genre lovers..
In 1985, on the eve of her sixteenth birthday, Lisa (Abigail Breslin) discovers that she is stuck in time, living the same day over and over with her parents Bruce (Peter Outerbridge) and Carol (Michelle Nolden) and her little brother Robbie (Peter DaCunha).
Will be possible to Lisa to stop the evil Oscar?"Haunter" is an intriguing ghost story with a promising idea of an evil spirit, but with a deceptive conclusion.
The story is a combination of "The Others" with "Groundhog Day" and "The Twilight Zone", with good performance of Abigail Breslin.
I put off watching this movie because I felt the idea of a ghost being haunted by humans was already covered in "The Others." However, this one added a few additional twists which made an intriguing story which I definitely needed to see through to the end with no disappointments, including how the actors carried their roles.There is no gore, if you don't mind seeing a few skeletal remains or the process of a body dying and crumbling.
Started off as a horror version of Groundhog Day but the longer the movie went on it found its stride & became pretty entertaining.
I knew nothing about this going in except for that fact that I was intrigued by Abigail Breslin in a horror movie.
Recurring scenes quickly become incredibly tedious and by the time you get into first 20 minutes of film you will not give a damn to find out what is going on.The film looked good somewhat at the beginning but the screenplay snapped at the middle and the movie lost chances for a descent film.
However, this movie starts out cleverly with a sort of ghost version of Groundhog Day, where Abigail Breslin's family relives the same day over & over, with her the only one who seems to know that they are dead.
If you've seen any of the dozens of ghost stories about a (usually female) ghost trapped because of what some evil man did to them, you will feel a sense of familiarity begin to come over you as you watch.
I for one had to bide my time from jumping to conclusions and the team who put this together did an excellent job in unfolding the story in such a way as to keep you guessing, keep you cheering for the hero, keep you in suspense at what spooky surprise is coming next.From chills and thrills to heart touching and family oriented scenes I found myself in moments of glee and suddenly utter fright and panic but not due to some gory, bloody has-been horror crap but for the heroine and the dilemma she faces throughout the this cinema piece!
I find that with a lot of scary, horror, slasher and supernatural movies they like to leave the ending wide open for a possible part 2.
I watched this movie for two reasons; first because the description seemed like it would be a bit different than the run-of-the-mill ghost story, and secondly to see how well Abigail Breslin would do in a role that didn't depend her to be a cute little kid.I'm pleased to say that-while it's not going to win any academy awards-it's a solid story that kept my interest throughout.
The story unfolded just a bit slower that it perhaps should have, but it didn't drag.It's an entertaining, solid popcorn movie, with lots of little plot twists that will make the viewer keep their interest.
Abigail Breslin gives a nice performance as protagonist Lisa, as does Stephen McHattie as "the Pale Man." The remaining cast are also quite good.
I would have liked more specific revelations about the other families, victims, and the whole mythos behind the Pale Man, but oh well.HAUNTER is an interesting cross-blend of genres: It's something of a "family horror film." There is, however, some gore, death imagery, and generally disturbing, scary material, so it's not appropriate for really young children: Most preteens or older can probably handle it.
What it is is a coming-of-age story, even though a ghost story - and quite a good one.SPOILERS - The movie opens with the word 'Lisa', the name of the heroine (the Abigail Breslin character).
In the end, she succeeds in about every way possible, all the baffling events are explained (some quite inventively), and Lisa finds herself in a Lovey Bones type heaven.Of course there are elements of other movies - Groundhog Day, The Others, Lovely Bones, and so on.
Thank goodness there are film makers out there who do not feel the need to show us a naked body nor gore to make a really good, refreshing and entertaining, and scary, ghost story.There are unexpected twists and turns, and virtually none of the usual, stupid and overused things are in there.
Inverting the horror theme in a The Lovely Bones (2009) manner that included a performance by a wonderful Saoirse Ronan, Abigail Breslin of Little Miss Sunshine, brings her sparkling and anti-haunting presence to this feature movie.Unlike The Cell (2000), Dark Water (2005), Silent Hill (2006), 1408 (2007), Haunter unfolds more in the tradition of The Sixth Sense (1999), Passengers (2008), The Thing (2008), Shutter Island (2010) but even in a more convoluted, claustrophobic, trapped, and frightful manner.
you won't be gripping your seat in anxious anticipation the second time around, because you already -know- what's going to happen a good mystery makes up for this in aspects of atmosphere, style and character development.
that's what makes cult classics like Candyman or Dark City or classic giallos by Dario Argento and Mario Bava so successful, and what Haunter is sorely lacking in worth watching at at least once for the unique story idea, it's well-acted and scripted with decent camera work and an adequate, minimalist score; bright lights and fog machines comprise the bulk of what the film has to offer in terms of atmosphere, though.
director Vincenzo Natali takes few chances with this one, the end result being an entertaining but sterile, made-for-TV-feeling film that few viewers will likely want to watch again.
Stuck in a 'Groundhog Day' style time loop in which she experiences the same day again and again, a teenage girl unwittingly discovers a way to alter the next day before it repeats in this intriguing horror film that reunites director Vincenzo Natali and screenwriter Brian King a decade after their electrifying 'Cypher'.
The vast majority of the movie though is creepy in refreshingly subtle ways, like the teenager's inability to go outside and the 'In the Mouth of Madness' scenario she finds herself in as she futilely tries to peddle away.
It is an undeniably atmospheric film too and it is the stronger moments of the film that ultimately stay in the mind, such as the way lead actress Abigail Breslin shudders and almost seems to collapse as a guest comes in from blinding white light after she first manages to alter the day..
On the eve of her sixteenth birthday, a teenage girl finds that her reliving the same day over and over again makes for her preparation to fight a sadistic time-traveling serial killer that's targeting others like her and must race to stop him.For the most part this one here was quite the fun and original effort.
The numerous instances of things going bump in the house where there's plenty of creeks and groans let out, the thrilling Ouija game where she contacts the other side and the different scenes in the fog-enshrouded outdoors where the house is completely covered here makes for a thrilling series of scenes that come into play quite nicely with that strong premise to make this quite dark and chilling once the endgame is firmly established here in introducing the time-traveling murderer and his connection to their family.
By including the different time-jumps and body-switching all throughout here as it generates quite a fun bit of action within these scenes, there's plenty of fun to enjoy here as this one goes about the twisted nature of showing her being tormented by his actions and going after the families only for the end to really get the supernatural comeuppance in quite a chilling manner.
Another scary movie with a petulant teenager with behavior problems though she comes from a decent family." Not too long after that she reveals that she and her family have been reliving the same day over and over yet she is the only one that realizes it, hence the attitude towards her parents.
It is like watching 3 movies in one, but it's all smooth transitions as the protagonist figures out what is happening to her and her family.
The rest of the cast is a bit hit or miss but they are adequate for what they are asked to do.The film starts out as sort of a spooky version of Groundhog Day meets The Others but then takes it in some interesting directions of it's own.
So hard to find a decent horror movie thee days, I read the Synopsis of the Haunter and it sounded like a great film so i thought i would give it a watch, but was so disappointed.
If you like ghost stories, watch this film!.
He actually references CUBE throughout this movie in terms of some of the plot twists and single-setting location, although this is a very different kind of product.HAUNTER is your usual haunted house horror with a twist: the main character is stuck in a time loop that sees her going through events time and again.
I have no idea who Abigail Breslin is or why she was cast in the central role, but she's completely out of her depth and impossible to take seriously as the lead.There's one cool horror scene set around a family dinner table which is absolutely spoilt by Breslin's fake and cheesy reaction shots, no matter how cool the effects are otherwise.
The people on the various roles were doing really good jobs with their given roles and characters.Just as shame that the movie had a tendency to drag stuff out and turn down the pace, making it seem like a prolonged suffering."Haunter" is a different kind of ghost movie, and if you enjoyed "The Others", then you will also find this movie of noteworthy interest..
When young teenager Lisa (Abigail Breslin) comes to realize that she and her family has been living their days the same way, she can only assume that something is wrong.
Lisa realizes it is up to her to try break through to the other side and save this family from meeting the same fate as hers, but dark spirits are preventing Lisa from doing this.Following her earlier thriller The Call this year, Abigail Breslin is back in this solid supernatural horror/thriller.
Breslin plays a young girl in a race against time to not only save this new family but also her own, all while being tortured by the dark spirits watching her.
The ghost of a teenage girl, Lisa(Abigail Breslin),wakes up to realize that she is ...dead.
Things get real creepy, when Lisa goes through an "awakening" that has her meeting the evil spirit responsible for years of killing trying to keep possession of the house.Not a lot of elaborate special effects; but I really like the sequences of the house sitting in the woods surrounded by thick fog.
It's the first time I see Abigail Breslin as a more grown up character in a scary movie, before I only saw her as kid in family movies.
The story itself is so convoluted that about a third of the way through it was already boring me winding it's way to make a point showing the same plot development over and over like Ground Hog Day. This could almost be called "Ghostbuster meets Groundhog, the Other Story," since it was trying so hard to be the movie, The Others, with Nicole Kidman, but that film was far, far superior to this entry.
And as I do love a good horror, thriller, ghost story, I went for it - as you probably would too, if you were me.The premise is an undeniably intriguing one and events kick off in a promisingly creepy way.
I just surprised myself when i first time watched this movie last week.The story line is deep and its even going deeper more than i expected.
The story start with the Abigail Breslin as Lisa Johnson as the murder victim.
The story is going darker when reached its climax.I am very enjoy to watch this movie, there is not much blood as like shown on saw..its scary is really comes from the pure terror.
Some things could have been smoother, quickly done, but overall the movie was original; one I would recommend to those who love interesting ghost stories!.
at first this film reminded me of most 80's horror movies I.E , not much happening in the first hour or so , but when the movie starts to tie together WOW - very original and very well acted , the story line was so well written and deep , I won't say it had me on the edge of my seat , but it did keep my attention , even though after the first 20 minutes I wasn't sure it would , but I am glad I stuck with it , sometimes it does pay off and you get to watch something surprisingly good.
The story reminded me of Groundhog day if it had been a horror film.
I feel it plays strongly on the creative areas another reason I gave it a 6 rating was the fact a few times it did make me jump this film had some good moments but failed and might have been better if they casted someone other than Abigail Breslan..
And actress Abigail Breslin does very well in the lead role, playing her role in a way that's likable, believable, and intelligent.But as I indicated in my summary line, the script for this movie should have been worked on some more before filming started.
And what happened in the past to put Breslin's character and her family in their predicament doesn't seem all that clear apart from there seemingly being more than one explanation; I'm unsure how the killer got all of his power as well as victims in his clutches.Despite the script problems, I admit that the movie did keep me watching to the very end.
Teenager Lisa (Breslin) is literally repeating the same day over in over in the style of the film Groundhog Day. Her family in the house doesn't understand what she is saying and a thick fog surrounds her house not allowing her to leave.
The story is both clever and compelling and the movie plays out almost like a mystery.
Solid performances especially from lead Abigail Breslin makes this an engaging horror film that plays out well..
Abigail Breslin is Lisa and she tells us fairly early in the movie that she is dead.
Watch first and enjoy if you don't want another's p;reception of the film.The movie.
The twist plot is set up in a ham-handed kind of way so that the surprise that worked well in a movie like "The Sixth Sense" misses here.