3/5
Written by Luke Barnes
Summary
The film follows a young woman, played by Emily Browning, who has recently come out of a mental institution returning home again. However, after she arrives she becomes more and more concerned about her father’s new girlfriend, played by Elizabeth Banks, who she begins to believe is plotting against her.
I will admit the twist with this one got me; I was not expecting it. I enjoyed that the film took the cliched trope of the evil home invader and flipped it on its head. Furthermore, I thought that Banks, rather than Browning was in fact the star of the show, as she gave off a real sense of menace and stole every scene she was in.
I thought Browning was okay, but her performance did nothing to elevate the character or the role, and she just became a very generic protagonist.
Something that I thought was odd about the film was the way in which the supernatural elements early on clashed with the thriller aspects of the rest of the film. It seemed this film could not decide what it wanted to be so tried to go for both, which hurt it as the initial supernatural stuff jars against what comes later, though I suppose could actually be read as an early clue.
Overall, an interesting thriller film with a solid twist that is let down by its choice of leading lady.
Pros.
Banks
The twist
Good tension
Cons.
Browning
The supernatural elements
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Another Millennial Reviewer 