After once again not expecting much from this movie due to the generally lower ratings and reviews given here, I was once again very pleasantly surprised. Without giving away any spoilers, and starting with the characters and actors themselves, I am convinced that Mischa Barton could turn in a Meryl Streep level, Oscar-winning performance, yet the majority of people reviewing on these types of sites would be ripping her to shreds. I'll admit I am a fan of hers anyway—although admittedly more of some of her work and less of others--but instead of being disappointed as I was expecting, I found her performance very solid in this film, as I have her roles in other thriller/suspense movies she's done. It was nice to see her in another more adult role, and unlike many horror-type films, if anybody is making dumb moves in this movie, it is not her lead female character. In fact I thought she portrayed this role of somebody thrust into an impossible situation that challenges her beliefs yet forces her to consider and even accept that perhaps some things truly are possible very believably. And I truly thought she handled it as ably as anybody could have, from her initial empathetic approach to dealing with an obviously emotionally disturbed youth through the various stages required as she begins putting pieces together! Finally, I appreciated that a movie gave the female lead the chance to be the thinking one, and in this case, the most heroic despite being imperfect and flawed (for instance, not being able to come up with the Lord's Prayer when needed, and some choice lines that I found notable in one sense or another), albeit in an impossible-to-win situation.
As far as the other characters are concerned, it took me a few minutes to realize I was watching the kid from the original Final Destination movie (having done something of a Michael C. Hall transformation into adulthood from the looks of it to me). As the Deputy, if there was one character I found frustrating, it was his—but only in the way the character was written. As one other reviewer mentioned, you kind of know what's coming—but this movie doesn't play it out as many would have, and the Deputy is less than the heroic character I expected he would have been when he finally gets to the school. Albeit, he does play a key role in the unexpected twist toward the end. Michael Clarke Duncan's performance is as always solid—my only complaint being that we didn't get enough of him (that's not a cut to the script, just an acknowledgment that we won't get to see much more of him in the work he's left behind), and another likely heroic character not coming through as might have been expected. Finally, although I don't know the kid playing Eli, I agree with others who defended his performance—as a kid who's just lost his beloved brother in such a brutal way, the only person who ever loved him, I found his brooding, angry Eli (yet sympathetic as well in at least one sense) seemingly well-handled for the situation. Without giving anything away, I'll also say that despite many saying this writing and movie was horrible, the portrayal of Eli was spot-on, there are unexpected twists with several of the key characters, and I also found myself thinking about this movie for a while after watching it.
So as others have said, if you like your movies to show a lot of brutal killings, this is not the movie for you. But the sound effects, the tension throughout, and a few unexpected jumps provide more than sufficient suspense. So if you instead appreciate a more thoughtful, suspenseful supernatural tale that does not play out exactly as you might think it would, you should find this movie worthwhile. I do not claim to be an expert on movies dealing with the supernatural, but this movie tells a story of one such situation that seems as believable as any other supernatural approach would be—and for that, this movie and these actors told the story as well as could be expected and better than many such movies. I will certainly be buying it for my collection--and as one other reviewer noted, it does end in a creepy way that definitely leaves it open for a second part, which I for one would look forward to.
As far as the other characters are concerned, it took me a few minutes to realize I was watching the kid from the original Final Destination movie (having done something of a Michael C. Hall transformation into adulthood from the looks of it to me). As the Deputy, if there was one character I found frustrating, it was his—but only in the way the character was written. As one other reviewer mentioned, you kind of know what's coming—but this movie doesn't play it out as many would have, and the Deputy is less than the heroic character I expected he would have been when he finally gets to the school. Albeit, he does play a key role in the unexpected twist toward the end. Michael Clarke Duncan's performance is as always solid—my only complaint being that we didn't get enough of him (that's not a cut to the script, just an acknowledgment that we won't get to see much more of him in the work he's left behind), and another likely heroic character not coming through as might have been expected. Finally, although I don't know the kid playing Eli, I agree with others who defended his performance—as a kid who's just lost his beloved brother in such a brutal way, the only person who ever loved him, I found his brooding, angry Eli (yet sympathetic as well in at least one sense) seemingly well-handled for the situation. Without giving anything away, I'll also say that despite many saying this writing and movie was horrible, the portrayal of Eli was spot-on, there are unexpected twists with several of the key characters, and I also found myself thinking about this movie for a while after watching it.
So as others have said, if you like your movies to show a lot of brutal killings, this is not the movie for you. But the sound effects, the tension throughout, and a few unexpected jumps provide more than sufficient suspense. So if you instead appreciate a more thoughtful, suspenseful supernatural tale that does not play out exactly as you might think it would, you should find this movie worthwhile. I do not claim to be an expert on movies dealing with the supernatural, but this movie tells a story of one such situation that seems as believable as any other supernatural approach would be—and for that, this movie and these actors told the story as well as could be expected and better than many such movies. I will certainly be buying it for my collection--and as one other reviewer noted, it does end in a creepy way that definitely leaves it open for a second part, which I for one would look forward to.