The Caretaker

The Caretaker was a really enjoyable horror movie that I am head over heels for. I was really creeped out by the terrifying grandmother played by Sondra Blake who refuses to take her medication and scares off all of her previous caretakers. Finally, her granddaughter, Mallorie, played by Meegan Warner, comes home to their Victorian house, that works as a perfect setting for this great horror movie. I was jumpy and watching between my fingers in fear as Mallorie slowly slips into the terrifying spirits that made her grandmother crazy as a medium in a circus. So happy I watched this movie right before Halloween because I couldn't imagine a better movie to get me in the right mood for ghosts and spirits.

What started nicely, with a good premise, an used subject but still a scary and effective one yet today, managed to reach none of its potential and simply got confused and annoying.

I was intrigued indeed, perhaps I found something better and as the minutes were passing I felt more and more curious about the situation. Won't take long until you'll realize that there is no end point, no twist, no explanation, just the finishing line, leaving so many questions behind.

As for the characters, if at start you got to know them, to care for some, in the end they all become a big mess of a cliché. I was happy that the movie finally ended, because it was clear I wasn't going to get what I was hoping for. Not recommended from my point of view. Completely missed opportunity here.

Cheers!

No chills. No thrills. Bad dialogue. No plot. Mediocre acting. Characters that made no sense. No resolution.

You're better off with most anything else.

And no don't think it'll so bad it's good.

The story is weak and never really defined, the dialogue seems to be made up as they go along the acting is incredibly bad with each movement or interaction it's obvious that they are trying to act except for Birdie but I suspect that was not acting since she spent 20 years married to Robert Blake. And if your going to have a character that is not supposed to speak English don't have her then speak English with out any hint of a Spanish accent while she is translating a letter. This was not scary at all this movie is an absolute joke from beginning to end.

"The Caretaker" starts out well enough, but after a fairly interesting start, then the air seems to seep out of the creative balloon and the movie just declines downhill from there. It is as if the movie never really managed to fully manifest a firm foothold and it just slipped between the hands of director Jeff Prugh.

The story is about young Mallorie (played by Meegan Warner) whom returns to her childhood home with her boyfriend in order to take care of her elderly grandmother Birdie (played by Sondra Blake) as her health is on the decline. But there are dark secrets looming over the household.

For a horror / thriller movie, then "The Caretaker" was frightfully devoid of anything even remotely scary of even close to being just the least bit thrilling. For a movie in this genre, then "The Caretaker" failed to impress and will just quietly go unforgotten into the darkest recesses of the movie collection.

What did stand out in the movie was the performance by Sondra Blake. She really stood out in this generic and mundane horror movie with her impressive performance.

The effects in "The Caretaker" were sparse and far in between. But whatever was there was used well enough in advantage of the movie. But it was a shame that they didn't allocate a bigger budget for special effects and practical effects, because such is usually a big part of a horror movie for it to be convincing.

Sad to say, but your attention will be tested throughout the course of the movie, because it is very tempting to pick up the phone for example and just check the social medias or something, because there is so little going on in the movie, that your attention will eventually start to falter and wander.

As I mentioned earlier, then "The Caretaker" is not an impressive movie nor a memorable movie in the horror / thriller genre. And there are far, far better similar movies available.

The movie's cover does look quite interesting, although it oversells the movie. So don't judge a movie by its cover!

"The Caretaker" managed to score a mere three out of ten stars from me. And I can honestly say that the movie, should you manage to get through it to the end, does not support more than just a single viewing.