Static

I watched the trailer of the movie before deciding whether or not to give it a go and it intrigued me enough to watch. It is clear from the first few scenes that there are a few story lines going on here.

Filming wise I think it is directed well with some interesting shots and a soundtrack which certainly adds to heighten the suspense.

Horror wise I think that anything which includes figures with masks on is always scary and throughout the whole film it kept you guessing as to why they were there, the point and what the outcome might be.

I really felt that the whole way through it was tense and suspenseful as a true horror/thriller movie should be, my only disappointment came at the end where I felt the movie recycled and ending which is all to common in cinema today. It would have been so great for it to have been something different to carry on the feeling of the rest of the film, but this sadly was not the case.

It is still worth a watch.

Static comes to us from a completely unknown source by way of Todd Levin, this being his directorial debut, he also was one of three people credited for the screenplay. For a first effort it was a promising start, of course having an experienced cast in Milo Ventimiglia & Sarah Shahi to work with certainly didn't hurt. The film had very good cinematography and sound that worked to create a tense, creepy atmosphere quite early into the film.

The film relies heavily on the acting of Ventimiglia & Shahi who play Addie & Jonathan, a grieving couple who recently lost their beloved son Thomas to an accidental drowning death a short time ago. Not far into the film, in the dead of night, they are awoken by a hard knock on the door. It is here we meet a desperate woman named Rachel(Sara Paxton) who claims that while tending to a flat tire, someone had attacked her and was still in pursuit, but when Jonathan goes out to look he can see no one, but just to be safe the couple agrees to let her stay the night. It is at this point that strange happenings begin to occur and we are left guessing where exactly the danger lies. The first half of the film closely resembles The Strangers(2008), but there is more than meets the eye as the details slowly bubble to the surface and the story takes a hard turn in a new direction.

The plot does consist of familiar ideas, things we have witnessed before in other films, but the film presents them in an intriguing way, making for an entertaining thriller. It had great atmosphere, good tension and fine performances by the film's lead characters, they both held my attention well throughout the film. The ending was a bit frustrating, as I'm sure some will agree, but was still an acceptable answer to all of the mystery & motives. Not a bad way to spend 80 minutes.

Was looking forward to this one as recognised some of the actors and although it started out well, it quickly descended into the realms of bland and predictable. What can I say other than its all been done before.......and been done better!

We watched it to the end because my husband was following it but I will admit that I was so bored that I really couldn't care less about what was going on! Needless to say it was no surprise that the whole thing was finished off with one of the worst endings in movie history! An ending which resulted in much cursing and ranting form my other half as up until this point he had been enjoying it! I'm sure the filmmakers intention was to end with a shocking twist but it just fell totally flat, an achievement in itself considering the already horizontal nature of the plot!

Great if you are having trouble sleeping.......zzzzzzzzzzz...........

STATIC is another murky and derivative 'home invasion' shocker that manages to rip off a half dozen or so films over the course of its running time. It's a rather insipid work that tries hard to build a creepy atmosphere but fails throughout thanks to sub-par direction and poor script writing. If you want to see this kind of film done properly, try the magnificent French thriller THEM.

The protagonists in the film are a young couple grieving the death of their only child. These makes them as mopey and self-centred as it gets, and they make for imminently unlikeable characters. Milo Ventimiglia and Sarah Shahi are undoubtedly talented performers but they can do little with what's on offer here.

The fright scenes in particular are rather dull and murky and too predictable when films like THE PURGE and THE STRANGERS have done it all before. Plus, the cinematography is way too dark, and the film as a whole has a grey and washed out look that makes it depressing to watch. The twist at the climax turns out to be nothing more than another rip-off of a different movie.

A couple hear a knock at the door in the dead of the night.

Starring Milo Ventimiglia and Sarah Shahi.

Written by Gabriel Cowan, Todd Levin, Andrew Orci and John Suits.

Directed by Todd Levin.

I really liked this one. It's creepy and scary and the plot kept me gripped all the way through.

The acting is good and try as I could I didn't see the twist at the end coming, even though there's a big hint in the opening scenes! It's all been done before of course. A young couple in a creepy house in the middle of nowhere and lots of running and hiding seem to be the staple for a lot of psychological horror movies. I wanted to grab hold of the main male character several times to tell him to stop being so stupid every time he ventured off on his own, because you know something bad is only going to happen. But what would a horror film be without stupid characters!

This is the perfect short movie to curl up on the couch to. Just make sure you turn out the lights and close the curtains to make it even more scary.

An enjoyable 7.5/10.