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.

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.

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...........

I was really caught up until about 30 minutes in. The sense of mystery was very strong. After things start to 'happen' though, I think it loses a bit of the tension that was built up so effectively to that point.

It's not that the movie takes a big dump or anything, but the middle section, although continuing the sense of mystery pretty well, seems to idle somewhat, sort of filling time. I don't mean to make it seem as bad as it sounds; it's mostly very effective all the way through and you really DO wonder what the &$%%#! is going on.

It's relatively easy in one sense to figure out a large part of what 'has' happened because they kind of tip it off to you (I don't wanna get too specific though and spoil anything) The use of sound as another reviewer mentioned is quite effective and good at building the suspense and a feeling of tension. One thing that I personally really appreciated, and this is something that I have a neurosis about so I don't expect this really will matter to most 'normal' people, but whomever was in charge of sound design THANKFULLY had a realistic view of what things normally sound like instead of boosting EVERY sound so unnaturally loud that it literally takes you out of the film. But, these guys really had it right on, so that was good.

Without giving too much away, I suppose that the ending could be considered sort of a 'Hollywood' ending, like another reviewer said here. But, if you are making a film with this kind of story, it's thematically kind of 'story-book' like anyway, so I feel that the ending logically follows. I guess it COULD have been left a bit darker. But, I agree with the film makers, that after all the mystery, suspense, and ultimately, the sadness, that choosing to end it like they did, I feel, is consistent with the overall story (DAMN! it's hard to explain something about the ending WITHOUT giving too much away... :)

Anyway, for the directorial debut and the theme of the film, I think they did a decent job with the story. It you want to be SUPER HYPER- critical, well, you COULD say that through the middle they might have come up with a tad more substance or complexity to draw us in a little more.

All and all, I honestly think that it is a solid, well made film. Depending on your personal taste concerning these types of movies, if your are like me where you appreciate imaginative themes, then you should find it fairly entertaining. BUT... if you are more of a hard core 'Realist' and do not suspend disbelief easily, this may not be the kind of film for you.

This one is not pleasant to watch, rather frustrating by times. The story isn't very good, it doesn't make sense. Some of the scenes (like the stepping on the glass and cutting her foot) are unnecessary and do not fit well with the rest of the story.

However, the acting is very good - Milo Ventimiglia, Sara Paxton and Sarah Shahi all perform very well, and for that reason I gave it a 5 eating instead of a 2 or 3.

The ending is better than the rest of the movie, and like the acting, helps to save it from being a total mess.

It's not a movie I'll watch again, and it's not one I'd recommend to anyone.