Viewed in
2007
Premise
John Cusack takes on 'an evil [bleeping] room'.
Who should watch
John Cusack fans. Those who want psychological horror instead of gory horror.
Thoughts
I'm not saying it was Oscar-worthy, but this was John Cusack's 'Cast Away' performance. For a large part of the film, he was acting by myself. But instead of thinking 'Hey, Tom Hanks is on an island', the thought in my head was 'What will happen next?'. I credit Cusack's natural acting abilities for immersing the audience into this mind-bender.
I liked the fact it was trying to be more Hitchcock than a gore-fest. However, the key to Hitchcock mastery was the elongated, torturous waiting that let the suspense fester and grow. Here, the film unleashed the spooks and weirdness frequently. I admit they were quite effective as scaring the audience. It helped that the daughter looked had Shelley Duvall eyes.
Bottom line: I recommend it for John Cusack's performance and for not being a stupid teenage slasher movie.
What I would change
Ending seemed kind of a cop out.
