This little movie came a bit as a surprise. I don't think anyone expected anything good from it but as it turned out, this is simply being one fine and very atmospheric genre movie.
This is not necessarily a typical horror/ghost movie but more one that relies on its mystery, rather than on its scares. And it handles its mystery quite effective and compellingly. It tells its story well and keeps things interesting at all times, making this basically a good watch from start till finish. Granted that you can see the big 'twist' coming from miles away already (well, at least if you are somewhat familiar with these type of movies already) but for some reason this didn't bothered me all that much and didn't prevented me from really liking this movie.
The mystery of the movie also heavily relies on its atmosphere, which is simply a great and very suiting one. It has some nice cinematography and also the right required settings.
Another aspect I also really liked about the movie was its main character, played by Rebecca Hall. It was a strong female lead, which isn't all that common for a movie of this sort, especially not one that is set in the very early 20th century. It worked out well and helped to keep things fresh and original, while in essence this is of course still being a very formulaic genre flick.
Yes, if you have seen plenty of movies involving a ghost story already, this movie really isn't anything that new or surprising to watch but it at least, unlike some other genre examples, never really has a dull moment in it and keeps things going and interesting at all times, even when there is not an awful lot happening. I think that this is actually the foremost reason why I ended up liking this movie so much, despite all of its still present and obvious (story) flaws and weaknesses.
Simply a good genre movie, that is well worth checking out.
7/10
Watch trailer
No comments: