Stephanie

I don't remember if there were any jump scares in "Stephanie," because it had me always ready to jump, and that might be the best thing I could say about a horror movie these days.

This is the sort of horror movie that could only be made with excellence today. It's low budget, but looks great. It takes place primarily in one house, but doesn't become dull. Instead of special effects, It depends on atmosphere and its actors' performances. In the few places where there are special effects, they don't invite doubt.

I commend the actors, especially child actor Shree Crooks, who hits it out of the park. Was it possible before now to get child-actor performance this strong in a low budget horror movie? Crooks is in every scene and never slips.

My only caveat: the first part might not appeal to some viewers, but if they spend the time looking carefully, they'll see that things are even more amiss than they seem. And if they stay with it, they'll be happy anyway.

An excellent largely ignored film. They used to call these sleepers.