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.

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.

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.

The movie itself is well cast and bland.

The plot is basic and unfortunate.

The ending redeems it.

This all could have been abbreviated to an episode of the Twilight Zone.

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.