Dick_Valpak

I'll refrain from spoilers, but just from the get-go, I don't know why the family leaves the farm.

Sure, you could say their security measures have been destroyed yada yada yada but the house they live in is just fine. In fact, leaving the home to go seek other shelter on the road seems like a TERRIBLE idea. And that's just the beginning...

At times, I was wishing that Bruce Campbell played Bill Paxton's part. But I do like a good dose of the Paxton when I can get it, and I definitely got a different kind of role from him in this movie. Not the greatest thing in the world, but it definitely reminded me of something that would make a great short story or novella. Especially with the degrees of paranoia exhibited by Paxton's character. Also, it felt as if the writer didn't know where to take such a simple premise so it kind of goes all over the place for the second half. The movie starts in one area and ends in another. No real direction. But the back story was nice. For a film of this caliber, I wasn't expecting any reasoning.

It's also good to see Ironside and Bell in something together beyond Total Recall.

This movie was in good condition as being one of the better murder mystery films in a long time...until the ending. The ending literally makes everything before it a waste of time. After you find out what the "twist" is, it just doesn't matter anymore. Once you see this movie, you'll know what I'm talking about. The film had me on the edge of my seat, wondering who the killer was. But God bless Hollywood for needing to shove another unnecessary twist ending into a movie that would have been JUST FINE without it. The build up of characters and occurrences were pretty interesting and kept you wondering who was behind it all. And then the ending just crapped on all of that because psychological twists have become all the rage after Sixth Sense, Usual Suspects, Fight Club, etc. Secret Window with Johnny Depp is another film that is ruined because of this old cliché trend.

The screenwriter should be fired and kicked in the balls for using what is now a cliché twist on such a promising murder mystery.