Dynamixor
The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.
Invaderbank
The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.
Marva-nova
Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.
hnhovitz
The film opens with kind of a creepy, promising narrative given by the actress (Jackie Weaver) who played the daughter in All in the Family whose haggard appearance is perhaps the most frightening aspect of the movie. Here's how it pans out: main 18-year-old dude goes for a good old fashioned stroll through the snowy woods and finds a girl in the freezing cold with no jacket crying about something she won't reveal. Next night, she ends up in the bed of our main guy—she sneaks on in there, by the way, and he wakes up to find her there, and is just like yeah, sure, no problem, and promises to protect her. Two jump scares and a cheap CGI character aren't enough to hold this movie up, and by the time you get to the end, nobody's motivations make any sense, living or dead, and are inconsistent to say the least. STOP now if you want to be surprised, because here comes the spoiler, and while there are several plot holes and unanswered questions, this is the one that irks me: if that girl from the woods is the daughter of Jackie Weaver's now-dead husband and his mistress, the fact that the girl says her mother died obviously holds up. The fact that she has a drunk dad who beats her...that's clearly not her birth dad, right, because the ghost comes for the birth dad too, in the movie's cold open? And we don't get to see the dad's face when the kid comes to check on the girl for a reason, as it's very obviously blurred, making you think that it will somehow become relevant. It doesn't. Did someone decide "meh, that's good enough" when they went back and realized they had to cover their tracks when it came to one of the most important plot elements of the film—which, seriously, leads to nothing—the fact that her dad beats her? Also, um, for what reason does this ghost want to kill the 'biological' dad in the beginning? Weren't they in love? What did he do wrong? I'm gonna give her the benefit of the doubt and guess that it's because he sat there like an idiot watching his wife about to slit this woman's throat without making a move to stop her.Then again, I sat there like an idiot watching all 87 minutes of this nonsense, so I guess that makes us even. Oh, and the ghost lets one person live: THE WOMAN WHO KILLED HER. REALLY? YOU'RE KILLING INNOCENT CHILDREN BUT SHE'S GOOD TO GO? Also, way to go framing your daughter for murder and getting her sent to jail, ghost lady! You are totally crushing it when it comes to getting that vengeance of yours on everyone except the one person you should be concerned with.IFC Midnight is really starting to drop the ball.
Peter Pluymers
"So you want to hear a ghost story? Well, every ghost story begins with a house... and a tragedy. And so we begin with mine."The beginning really feels creepy. The rest of the film looks typical. Just another haunted-house topic with a whole range of already used elements from similar films. For the real horror fanatics it's nothing new or surprising. Expect creaking doors, manifesting entities , scary sounds behind every door and in every corner, looming shadows and sudden scares. This film contains them all and therefore looks like a hodgepodge of already used ideas. Except for that impression-making start wherein an original device is proposed : an old-fashioned looking device composed of transistors and radio lamps that can be used to communicate with the deceased. The tormented and desperate person who wants to use it to get in touch with his children, soon will experience the consequences. They are less pleasant than he had expected.The Asher family moves into an old house of which there are rumors that it's haunted. The Morello family who lived there previously, was decimated cruelly. The only survivor was the matriarch Janet Morello (Jacki Weaver) who shows up while the Ashers are moving in, saying that she forgot to take something with her. During her brief visit she talks to Evan (Harrison Gilbertson), the son of the family Asher, telling him that her son died when he was Evan's age and that the attic was his bedroom. The moment Evan meets the rebellious teenage girl Sam (Liana Liberato) during a nighttime walk, a close friendship grows in between them. Before he realizes it, Sam snuggles into his bed at night. After a while they start to experiment with the strange device that they found (the one you saw in the opening scene) in a side room in the attic (actually Sam knew it was there anyway). A dangerous game that opens the door for not so friendly ghosts.Ghost stories with an old, possessed house as a central subject, is an eagerly used topic in the horror genre. Think of "The Conjuring", "The Woman in Black", "The Amityville Horror" or "Poltergeist" and you know what to expect. The old clichés aren't shunned. Every time there's an appearance, lights start to flicker again (in the same way as you saw in "Deliver us from Evil") There's even an entity that looks as if it came straight out of the movie "The Ring". And events from the past are shown in a creepy way in black and white. Unfortunately there are also the ridiculous-looking clichés. Like the fact that the new family happens to have the same composition of family members as the previous unfortunate family. Despite terrifying apparitions and confrontations, everyone just continues as if this is the most normal thing in the world. Even worrying gibberish of the youngest daughter ("If there's really a ghost in Evan's room, l think he should make friends with it.") doesn't bother anyone. And of course at that time the parents leave the entire household behind, so they can visit a few colleagues.Despite the obvious events, apparitions and paranormal states, I was still a bit surprised by the final denouement. Visually and in terms of atmosphere they could have created a really eerie and creepy film. The ghost part isn't so bad because they are surely scary at times. But the storyline is certainly not that exciting. And the performances are pretty one-dimensional. Parents are more absent than present, the older daughter was totally unnecessary and the younger sister lived in her own world. Gilbertson and Liberato formed a sympathetic couple but Gilbertson's naivety is hugely irritating. I enjoy an old-fashioned ghost story once and a while. Such a film that gives you the chills at times. The only chills I got while watching "Haunt", were those of the cold because of an open window in the middle of the night.More reviews here : http://bit.ly/1KIdQMT
kosmasp
The movie has a very strong beginning. Sound effects throughout are very clear and nicely put (for those scary moments you are waiting for to jump off your seat). But after that strong start, you might find yourself a bit too relaxed and the new characters introduced do not get enough screen time. Other than that, one of the most major flaws is that the story lacks a bit of sense.It's a shame, it could've been so much better. Not to mention the typical "stupid" behavior, that our characters show, despite knowing better. The mothers (characters) seem to be doing the best job from anyone else. Still there is enough to be entertained, if you allow yourself not to be bothered
gavin6942
An introverted teen (Harrison Gilbertson) connects with his new neighbor (Liana Liberato), and together the couple begins to explore the haunted house that his family has unknowingly just purchased.There are some things worth liking about this film. The cinematographer is excellent, first of all, and the snow shots look great. Casting Liana Liberato was a wise move, as she has "the look" that could really take her places in the coming years. And the inclusion of the supernatural radio (for lack of a better term) was cool.What was not appreciated was the writer's apparent influence from "American Horror Story". Maybe this is all coincidental, but the house full of ghosts, the strange neighbor, it all seemed very familiar. And not really in a good way. Other reviews have called the film unoriginal, and they are right. While few horror films are, this one is even more derivative than others.Perhaps most strange of all was the poor advertising from IFC. The cover art is not terribly persuasive, and they make no mention of Jacki Weaver or Ione Skye. Weaver gets a mention on the back, but these are two names that should be put prominently on the cover. Why would you not play up having a two-time Oscar nominee in your film?
