Desamparados

This movie started out very promising. Emma Roberts and John Gallagher Jr play a young couple who buy a house out in the country. We learn that "a tragedy" happened in the house 40 years before, and we're meant to understand that it's been empty ever since - even though it's in perfect condition. They have a new baby and Roberts' character is suffering from severe postpartum depression, which is exacerbated by the fact that her husband's job as a country vet keeps him busy for roughly 18 hours a day, every day, even though he only seems to have like two clients. She begins to have hallucinations about the previous tenants, and her behavior becomes more and more erratic.

The setup is good, and Michael Shannon turns in a classic Michael Shannon role as their creepy Michael Shannon-like neighbor, but it never really delivers. The only reveal happens pretty early, and they telegraph it from a mile away.

Don't get me wrong, I love slow burn horror movies, but there's slow and there's SLOW, and I do expect something to eventually happen. No danger of spoilers because there's really nothing to spoil. It just sort of plods along and ends.

It seemed like they were teasing something more interesting in the backstory, but then it was like they checked their watches, decided the movie was long enough, and called it a wrap.