Static

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.

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.

It was a bit Meh for the first part. Feeling predictable and lost amongst so many like it. But the ending really redeemed the whole thing for me.

Maybe if the first part had been a bit more original then I'd have rated a little higher. Does a good ending determine the entire movie? No. But it was a gooden.

This movie I agree was slow paced and definitely not a movie to watch if you are looking for a good scare.

However, I very much enjoy when a horror movie takes you on a ride you think you have been on before and ends up not being at all what you expected. I think it was clever way to pull this whole story together and take it away from your typical clichéd "house invaders" story line. As a huge horror movie buff that likes a variety of horror movies, this movie I found to be very refreshing. I actually found the ending completely worked with the whole movie, if it had of ended any other way I feel many parts of the movie would of seemed stupid and not worked at all.

All in all, I would absolutely say it is worth a watch for those who enjoy a wide variety of horror sub-genres.

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.