*Waring contains spoiler* well, to say this for the filmmaker, it started out promising, a quirky beginning to the plot entails with an exit of a family member to college and the entrance of a spooky entity who throughout the whole movie and even after, you question why was there in the first place. This is the first horror movie where the horror wasn't the integral plot point. Strange you ask? uh-huh. I'm confused too. Lets say leave out the spooky ghost stuff (At the beginning) re work some scenes and you have a perfectly serviceable Tom Clancy (Patriot Games)style mystery complete with the REAL villain in the original film. Or say this, take out human villain, leave spooky stuff, minus half hearted mystery, dump the superfluous neighbor plot add some more spooky and special effects and there you have yourself a true thriller.
Personally when I go to see a supernatural thriller I want to see supernatural stuff and have it all make sense, in this film we never know why the girl is haunting them (well we kinda do) but you go back to the old Hollywood cliche "where's your motivation?" it was just kinda there and wasn't only to come in until the plot dulled, it gives me the shivers now, not cause its scary, but because its so whacked and stupid. Imagine this: Say you're watching the Generals Daughter, and every once in a while the girl reappears to scare the hell out of John Travolta or whomever the director feels needs to see the presence. Or even if Mel Gibsons slain wife in Braveheart came back to exact revenge on the king. You'd say "that was unnecessary" as it is here.
Also some major plot points are thrown in so quick and obscurely that I heard people in the theater whisper "what did that mean?" sure you may be in a time frame but lets rewrite some scenes so they flow. Its sloppy to confuse the audience right away.
Maybe next time Mr. Zemeckis, you've wowed us with House on Haunted Hill, Contact, Roger Rabbit, Back to the Future and Gump, (heck I was fully expecting to see a Frighteners style experience) don't let Cast Away fall by the way side with talking monkeys or helicopters made from bamboo and coconuts, if it doesn't fit leave it out, movies will make so much more sense without ten thousand contrasting plot elements in a movie. But hey you've done so much good, we forgive you for what lies beneath.
I'm sorry if any of this did not make sense, see the movie and read this again, you'll understand that there's so much to be said for the movie that it cannot be expressed in words, just an utter sense of confusion
Personally when I go to see a supernatural thriller I want to see supernatural stuff and have it all make sense, in this film we never know why the girl is haunting them (well we kinda do) but you go back to the old Hollywood cliche "where's your motivation?" it was just kinda there and wasn't only to come in until the plot dulled, it gives me the shivers now, not cause its scary, but because its so whacked and stupid. Imagine this: Say you're watching the Generals Daughter, and every once in a while the girl reappears to scare the hell out of John Travolta or whomever the director feels needs to see the presence. Or even if Mel Gibsons slain wife in Braveheart came back to exact revenge on the king. You'd say "that was unnecessary" as it is here.
Also some major plot points are thrown in so quick and obscurely that I heard people in the theater whisper "what did that mean?" sure you may be in a time frame but lets rewrite some scenes so they flow. Its sloppy to confuse the audience right away.
Maybe next time Mr. Zemeckis, you've wowed us with House on Haunted Hill, Contact, Roger Rabbit, Back to the Future and Gump, (heck I was fully expecting to see a Frighteners style experience) don't let Cast Away fall by the way side with talking monkeys or helicopters made from bamboo and coconuts, if it doesn't fit leave it out, movies will make so much more sense without ten thousand contrasting plot elements in a movie. But hey you've done so much good, we forgive you for what lies beneath.
I'm sorry if any of this did not make sense, see the movie and read this again, you'll understand that there's so much to be said for the movie that it cannot be expressed in words, just an utter sense of confusion