Flanagan's films tend to be hit or miss, so I went into the theater not knowing exactly what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this movie was one of Flanagan's better pieces along with Oculus and Hush.
The film itself was a pretty masterful period piece, with excellent costumes and sets and lines that helped you place the time period without a big date sprawling across the screen at the opening. Seriously, the costumes were so good. Although some of the lines hit you over the head with the whole "we are in the '60s" deal, it wasn't cheesy or over-the-top.
The child acting was pretty good, particularly from Annalise Basso who I was excited to see again after her performance in Oculus. LuLu Wilson was also exceedingly creepy in plenty of parts. I was very pleased with the amount of creep factor, especially from a PG-13 movie which usually rely on cheap scares (example: this movie's predecessor).
Where this movie fell flat for me was the actual demon/ghoul/monster story. I wish they would have kept the ghoul as a fleeting figure instead of full-on showing them fairly early on in the movie. It's so much scarier to let your imagination go wild instead of seeing a digitized monster. Maybe it will be scary for the teens who go to see this film, but it took the scare factor down a notch for me. The origin story for the demon seemed a little forced and rushed towards the end, and I think choosing a less complicated origin might have made the movie run a little smoother. However, the ending was pretty good and it was an overall thrilling theater experience.
The film itself was a pretty masterful period piece, with excellent costumes and sets and lines that helped you place the time period without a big date sprawling across the screen at the opening. Seriously, the costumes were so good. Although some of the lines hit you over the head with the whole "we are in the '60s" deal, it wasn't cheesy or over-the-top.
The child acting was pretty good, particularly from Annalise Basso who I was excited to see again after her performance in Oculus. LuLu Wilson was also exceedingly creepy in plenty of parts. I was very pleased with the amount of creep factor, especially from a PG-13 movie which usually rely on cheap scares (example: this movie's predecessor).
Where this movie fell flat for me was the actual demon/ghoul/monster story. I wish they would have kept the ghoul as a fleeting figure instead of full-on showing them fairly early on in the movie. It's so much scarier to let your imagination go wild instead of seeing a digitized monster. Maybe it will be scary for the teens who go to see this film, but it took the scare factor down a notch for me. The origin story for the demon seemed a little forced and rushed towards the end, and I think choosing a less complicated origin might have made the movie run a little smoother. However, the ending was pretty good and it was an overall thrilling theater experience.