bobjohnson994

I am a horror fan writing to other horror fans.

Frank Dillane does a good job with what he is given.

Vanessa Grasse seems to have only one note as an actress, a slightly pensive look.

Feeling wistful about affection for a guy that is not being returned? You get the pensive look. In the middle of an intense supernatural event? You get a slightly more... pensive look. It does help that she is gorgeous, but thats about it. Just needs some acting lessons, or maybe reduce the Prozac dosage? Hard to tell.

Agree with some here that say there are things brought up that never get addressed.

The production values feel high, so its bothersome the script was so poor.

And as others have said, the last 10 minutes were rushed, like they a speech when you have 45 minutes of points to make, and you realized you only have 5 minutes left to make them because the introductions went on too long.

I slightly (not greatly) regret watching this whole movie through.

I am not the kind to pile on and torpedo a movie for some sort of personal gratification.

Until now that is.

Shane Black has managed to sink a franchise which was probably worth 500 million as an intangible asset in future movies, games, action figures, etc.

I am not sure the last time someone destroyed so much wealth in such a short time, unless maybe we ask the guy that opened the bomb doors on the Enola Gay.

I am an expert horror watcher. I know what works and what doesn't.

It must be more difficult to write a horror movie than I imagine, because I think most people are not twisted enough to understand what makes a good horror as well as us horror fans.

I don't mind a bit of dark humor, but once you go down the path of parody, even a little, you are making a horror comedy, not a horror movie. This movie skirts that line.

Another thing horror writers need to understand is that we the audience need to feel there is SOME chance the protagonists will survive, and for a plausible reason. If the Big Bad can just kill anyone or everyone, any time it wants to, then the rest of the movie is just about thinking about creative kills, the intrigue of how to get out of it, how to survive, is gone. This makes for a bad movie.

The other thing you don't want to do in a horror movie is exposition. This movie is filled with exposition.

This movie flirts with horror, then does not deliver. It also flirts with sexy nudity, then does not deliver. Do the writers not understand?

All that being said, I still want to encourage people to make more of these independent horrors, but don't be NICE, don't be typical, its not going to work.

If you want a superior "trapped in an abandoned building", supernatural horror, watch Grave Encounters (2011). Its a movie that takes itself seriously as horror.