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IMDbPro

The Skeptic

  • 2008
  • Not Rated
  • 1h 29m
IMDb RATING
5.6/10
4.7K
YOUR RATING
Tom Arnold, Tim Daly, and Zoe Saldaña in The Skeptic (2008)
Following his aunt's mysterious death, a power lawyer (Daly) moves into the elderly womanÂ’s supposedly haunted mansion. There, he dismisses one incident after another, until the haunting turns so personal and vicious, his veneer begins to unravel.
Play trailer2:28
1 Video
17 Photos
HorrorThriller

A lawyer who does not believe in ghosts inherits a house that may be haunted.A lawyer who does not believe in ghosts inherits a house that may be haunted.A lawyer who does not believe in ghosts inherits a house that may be haunted.

  • Director
    • Tennyson Bardwell
  • Writer
    • Tennyson Bardwell
  • Stars
    • Tim Daly
    • Tom Arnold
    • Zoe Saldaña
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    5.6/10
    4.7K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Tennyson Bardwell
    • Writer
      • Tennyson Bardwell
    • Stars
      • Tim Daly
      • Tom Arnold
      • Zoe Saldaña
    • 44User reviews
    • 20Critic reviews
    • 31Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

    The Skeptic
    Trailer 2:28
    The Skeptic

    Photos16

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    Top cast57

    Edit
    Tim Daly
    Tim Daly
    • Bryan Becket
    Tom Arnold
    Tom Arnold
    • Sully
    Zoe Saldaña
    Zoe Saldaña
    • Cassie
    • (as Zoe Saldana)
    Edward Herrmann
    Edward Herrmann
    • Dr. Shepard
    • (as Ed Herrmann)
    Andrea Roth
    Andrea Roth
    • Robin Becket
    Robert Prosky
    Robert Prosky
    • Father Wymond
    Bruce Altman
    Bruce Altman
    • Dr. Koven
    Lea Coco
    Lea Coco
    • Deputy Lura
    Sara Weaver
    • Helena Becket
    • (as Sarah Weaver)
    L.J. Foley
    • Young Bryan Becket
    Paul Tietjen
    Paul Tietjen
    • Michael Becket
    Steve Fletcher
    • Courtroom Lawyer
    Christina Rouner
    • Courtroom Witness
    Catherine Wyler
    • Carol
    James DiSalvatore
    James DiSalvatore
    • Carl
    Chris Silipigno
    • Raz
    John J. Taylor
    • Courtroom Judge
    • (as John Taylor)
    Lee Bieler
    • Bartender
    • Director
      • Tennyson Bardwell
    • Writer
      • Tennyson Bardwell
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews44

    5.64.6K
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    Featured reviews

    5paul_m_haakonsen

    Not exactly what I had expected...

    With a very alluring synopsis, I sat down to watch "The Skeptic" with the hopes for a haunting. However, the movie did turn out to be something beyond that. A good or bad thing? Well, I had expected it to be a supernatural story about a haunting, so my expectations were throws a bit off course with what the movie turned out to be.

    "The Skeptic" starts out quite well and does build up some interesting characters and situations. And director Tennyson Bardwell did manage to keep the movie going at a good pace and build up some really tense situations. Personally, I didn't enjoy the revelation of what was really going on, although you did guess it about halfway through the movie, so it was not a surprise twist of events. Just a bit disappointing to me.

    I don't think I have seen Tim Daly in anything since "Wings", which was a great show back then. So I wasn't sure what to expect here. But I was more than pleasantly surprised, because he really did a good job and carried the movie quite nicely. And he had most of the weight of the movie on his shoulders as he was essentially solo in the movie most of the time. But he held his ground and performed quite well.

    What really worked out quite well for this movie was the character gallery. They had some very interesting and well-detailed characters in the storyline. And I was especially fond of Bryan Becket (played by Tim Daly) because of his skeptic approach to everything supernatural and his direct method of handling things. So the characters in the movie were well-rounded and had personalities and depth to them.

    Now, there were very little special or practical effects in the movie, which was a disappointment to me. But of course, with what the movie actually turned out to be, it would have made no sense to have had "The Skeptic" to be a movie filled with special effects.

    There were some good and tense moments here and there throughout the course of the movie, but I wouldn't really say that this movie was rich on actual scary moments. So the thriller aspect of the movie outweighs the horror aspect, just as a heads up.

    "The Skeptic" is hardly a movie that warrants more than a single viewing, because the storyline just doesn't have enough aspects, levels or depth to support entertainment for more than a single viewing.

    I was fairly entertained, but found the turn of events and the root of actual events to be a bit disappointing. And as such, then I am rating "The Skeptic" a mediocre five out of ten stars.
    6trentxgreis

    Intriguing story, but ends flat

    Honestly I was really enjoying this, but I feel like it ended too abruptly/prematurely right when we should've gotten a more intense and emotional "fight scene" I guess you could say. Honestly even another 10-20 minutes could've really helped make the ending more enjoyable and satisfying. I was also hoping we would see more of Cassie and that she would play a role in the ending of the movie. I would probably have rated this a bit higher if it wasn't for the ending because I feel like it had interesting characters and dynamics, as well as good performances from all of the cast. If you're on the fence about watching this, I would say do it since it was pretty enjoyable for the most part!
    7theeintolerablekidd

    Clever and scary

    I really liked this film. Like my title says it was clever and scary, maybe even a little too much in places. At one point, I must admit, I had my hands in front of my eyes.

    A 30 something lawyer moves into his aunts large house after her death. He soon experiences signs that the house may be haunted, but is it haunted or is it all in his head? Either way it makes for a scary movie, and that is what's clever about this film. It leaves you with questions. Good questions, not holes in the script, but intelligent thought provoking stuff. OK maybe that's going a bit far, it's not Freud or anything but it is good solid cinema. Good acting and an evenly paced well executed script. Nice to see Tom Arnold too.
    7TuesdayThe17th

    Delivers unsettling chills

    I found this film in a pile of movies at a pawn shop near my house. As a fan of the IFC line of films, I decided to pick it up. This movie unfolds at a very good pace. Every scene seemed important and the entertainment did not die down once. This is a ghost story type of movie and honestly it kinda felt like a TV movie, but that just made for a warm feel. Fellas, it's a good movie to watch with your girlfriend, but don't expect blood and guts because its the uneasy type of scary that this films delivers. There should be more low key horror films like this. another title that's similar but a little upscale with the terror is "The Last Will and Testament of Rosalind Leigh". I highly recommend it if you liked "The Skeptic".
    5LetsReviewThat26

    as haunting as a tea cup

    I was hoping for something better from the skeptic really. It was a film that was not very scary and yet again its another film with a bad ending that makes it feel like it was not worth it. So theres this man called bryan. He gets a call the second his aunt is found dead and just like that he moves into the house she has left behind. Bryan does not actual own the house as his aunt left it to an institute that specilises in paranormal stuff so he helps them and zoe saladana and in the process discovers things about his own past. The script was written quickly the acting is decent just not a scary film.

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    Related interests

    Mia Farrow in Rosemary's Baby (1968)
    Horror
    Cho Yeo-jeong in Parasite (2019)
    Thriller

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Dr. Warren Koven's name derives from two words related to witchcraft: a coven is an assembly of usually 13 witches, and a warren is a maze of small rooms where they might gather.
    • Goofs
      When Bryan (Daly) goes down to the wine cellar and gets a bottle of wine (at about 45 min. mark), it appears to be a brown bottle with a white label. It looks the same when the scene shifts to him trying to open the trunk. But a few moments later, when the scene shifts to him sitting at the table eating, with the bottle of wine quite obvious, talking about "what's in the trunk"...the wine bottle is green with an obviously colorful label.
    • Quotes

      [first lines]

      [Deputy Lura looks around the dark house with his flashlight]

      Deputy Lura: Miss Deaver? It's Deputy Lura, ma'am. Got a phone call from this house. Somebody hung up. Everything all right? Miss Deaver?

      [He hears a sound]

      Deputy Lura: Is somebody in there? I can hear you, you know. Miss Deaver, is that you?

      [His flashlight finds Dead Miss Deaver, who appears to have died of fright]

      Deputy Lura: Jesus!

    • Connections
      References L'Enfant du diable (1980)
    • Soundtracks
      Brand New Me, Same Old Blues
      Written and performed by Joe Whiting

      Published by MinkMan Music ASCAP

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    FAQ17

    • How long is The Skeptic?Powered by Alexa

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • June 24, 2010 (Kazakhstan)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official site
      • IFC Films (United States)
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • The Haunting of Bryan Becket
    • Filming locations
      • Ballston Spa, New York, USA
    • Production companies
      • Day Dreamer Films
      • Intrinsic Value Films
      • Saratoga Studios
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $6,671
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $1,553
      • May 3, 2009
    • Gross worldwide
      • $205,585
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 29m(89 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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