Inhabitants

Well, that was really a rather lackluster little movie and a disappointment for me.

The acting was fine with Anna Jacoby-Heron, the underutilized Kevin Nealon and Ann Auther proving exceptionally qualified as expected. Josh Rivers was a step below but acquitted himself well.

I did feel the writing was the weak link though, with the story really feeling like an idea that wasn't fully fleshed out. In this case the writer, Matt McClung, also directed, and frankly that seldom turns out well in my 50 years of movie viewing. At least he didn't try to act as well!

It wasn't much of a horror movie, more a relationship drama with some religious and very light supernatural elements.

The whole enterprise had the feel of a "Christian film" in that it had the vibe of one of those little movies that end up being shown to church groups. Kinda' lower budgeted affairs with maybe a name or two from years past who now find work with little, fly-by-night, Christian production companies. I don't believe that's the case here... but it feels like it is.

Overall, 4/10 is my score and I suspect this'll ultimately end up somewhere in the upper 3s when all is said and done.

Upon relocating from Arizona to their new residence in California, a past negative energy - spirit haunts Francis (Josh Rivera) and his new age hippie girlfriend Olivia (Anna Jacoby-Heron), which tests their approach into finding a solution for putting the agitated spirit to rest.

Francis receives a home warming package from his mother containing religious artifacts - rosaries, crucifixes, a painting of Jesus and a spiritual postcard. Although he admits that it is something he no longer practices, it seems to upset Olivia who is an alternative healer - using crystals, rocks and mystic emblems.

Francis begins to witness strange occurrences from seeing a silhouette of a man, gas line bursting, to even possibly being possessed. Perhaps Francis mood stabilizers are causing psychosis?

Olivia does some digging into Francis's past and discovers some disturbing events that happened at a Christian retreat for troubled boys and believes that his ministry director Vernon (Todd Robert Anderson) might be the entity haunting them, for she also begins to witness strange phenomena. Could Olivia be also experiencing psychosis?

Francis explains to Olivia the events that led up to Vernon's tent catching on fire and to his death, which coincides with the earlier scenes in the movie. Francis blames himself for what happened to Vernon. He visibly is overwhelmed with guilt and sees himself as a sinner - It could be the most logical sense that resulted in his radical emotional outbursts.

Olivia's solution is to take Francis to see Denny (Kevin Nealon), her boss at the crystal healing shop, to help with banishing the negative spirit. Conflicted with his religious faith to healing crystals Francis decides to reach out to his mother Lillian (Ana Author) for help, which will only invite tension amongst them as Lillian is a devoted Christian who does not approve of her unmarried son living with his girlfriend. Francis overcomes with anxiety and decides to resolve his own issues by taking drastic measures putting his and Olivia's life at risk. Will faith and, or the power of healing crystals save them from the haunting of Vernon?

Director Matt McClung did a fantastic job on presenting a serious condition that many people struggle with and the challenges they face to live a normal life. Josh Rivera and Anna Jacoby-Heron showed to have great chemistry and delivered a natural performance. I liked that Kevin Nealon brings that soothing zen vibe to the scene. This psychological thriller film will have you pondering if there really was a haunting or was it simply the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder.