Finders Keepers

Some things better stay lost. Some things cannot be fully explained either. At least not rationally speaking. However you look at this it is a straighforward horror movie with maybe some recognizable faces from one place or another. Marina Sirtis got famous on the Star Trek Enterprise (with the next generation), but has not the main role here (and you may have different feelings regarding her cat lady character here).

Overall this is a decent effort (stab) at a well known formula. It's not Chucky and it's not Annabelle either. Then again, maybe you feel this is better than both combined (I doubt it, but it's all in the eye of the beholder).

If I had known beforehand that Finders Keepers was a made-for-TV movie, distributed by SyFy, I probably would have given it a wide berth. As such, the film is, for the most part, a rather tepid tale that provides very few scares—yet another in a long line of derivative horror films that revolve around a creepy doll.

Jaime Pressly stars as Alyson Simon, mother and estranged wife, who moves into a new home with her young daughter Claire (Kylie Rogers). Life takes a turn for the worse for Alyson, however, when her little girl becomes obsessed with Lilith, the strange looking doll hidden that she discovers hidden under a floor vent. It's not long before Claire begins to exhibit very strange behaviour while those around her start to turn up dead.

This plot is so well-worn that it practically writes itself, with the girl and the doll becoming inseparable while her parents try to figure out what the hell is going on. Several characters are introduced simply to become victims: Tobin Bell as child psychologist Dr. Freeman, Marina Sirtis as nosy neighbour Janine, and Justina Machado as occult expert Professor Elena Carranza, whose nasty death scene—eyes plucked out and set alight—is easily the highlight of this otherwise forgettable fright flick.

My hopes were not too high before watching this but I was surprised that it is actually pretty good.

It's a familiar tale, family move into a house with a horrible history and bad things happen. We have seen it all a hundred times but thanks to a good cast and some nice directing this still manages to satisfy.

There were a number of well handled tension filled scenes that prove that horror isn't and shouldn't be all about the gore. Although it's fairly predictable I still felt pretty tense at times watching it. The cast all did a good job but a special mention must go to the little girl who plays the young daughter Claire ( Kylie Rogers) who is genuinely chilling as the possessed girl.

For a small budget horror film this is a good film and is certainly on a par with many of it's higher budgeted rivals.

I totally forgot I'd seen this movie.

Despite both Jaime Priesley AND Tobin Bell in top form, this is a very generic experience. You know the kind: the kid finds something and talks and that's on top of the tedious domestic problems they're already having.

You can tell from the way the doll looks that this won't be well made: in a scary movie the doll can't look too scary because that makes it way too obvious it's malevolent. Dangerous things don't look dangerous, that's why they're more dangerous. Does that make sense?

Anyway, I don't remember this annoying me the way a lot of other horror movies have in the past it's just really forgettable despite its curiously high star power.

I happened to learn of this film while checking a trailer for another (good ol' YouTube recommendation). Apparently, it's an original TV film made by a channel called Syfy, a fact made obvious by the lighting and cinematography, and perhaps the fact that NONE of the main characters are credited here on IMDb without clicking the "see full cast" link!

Anyways, nothing original about the story... violent murder in a house, reasons unknown, evil haunted doll recovered, rinse and repeat. Deja-vu? Bluntly so... I must say I liked the acting, especially by 10 year old Kylie Rogers as little Claire. Having to play such a role when you're only 10 isn't easy (though not half as challenging or impressive as other young lead roles like in Mama or The Ring), and I think Rogers showed some real talent.

The story develops nicely, but not more than that. The doll is pretty creepy though! Not easy presenting scary dolls nowadays after the high raft set by Saw and The Conjuring. Certain scenes were really amateur, for instance when one of the characters trips on a wire it is painfully visible that she simply ducked and rolled down the stairs... Why give stuntman Steve Austin the first credit when other stunts were so miserably performed? Beats me.

All in all, this is the kind of film you can definitely enjoy, but only if you set your Horror meter to mediocre and below. I enjoyed watching it, and I liked the fact that it lacked any sex, gore or extreme violence, making it suitable for younger Horror fans. It isn't terrible, but it's far from great. As always, I recommend you ignore my (or anyone else's) opinion and judge for yourselves!