This movie was definitely not good. It wasn't absolutely horrible, in that elements were interesting. The kid who played Tom did an EXCELLENT job. The boy who played Garret as a child was also very good. However, none of the adult characters were the slightest bit interesting or empathetic. It was obvious that Garret was unbalanced from the very beginning, just by his appearance. There was nothing subtle about him at all. There was nothing sincere about his desire to recover his memory. There was nothing sincere about his relationship with his girlfriend. There was literally nothing at all to like about him. Claire, the girlfriend, was simply there. Garret has a diatribe about her repetitive platitudes and, unbalanced as he is, you kind of understand where he's coming from. She's completely one dimensional and her hiding under a blanket like a five-year-old child did not contribute to making her impressive. My guess was that the other woman at the lake was not real. Oops. My mistake. Wrong cliche.
All in all, the story was fairly predictable, particularly after the birthday party scene. The ending was somewhat satisfying, even though that too was somewhat predictable as the final scene progresses. What the film does well, it does well. There is no "horror" to speak of (other than the clown. I hate clowns). However, there were many unsettling scenes that let to an undercurrent of unease that lasted the entire movie. A lot of people have compared this movie to a combination of "The Shining" with "It." I would suggest that it's more like a combination of "Needful Things" combined with "It," with a bit of sociopathy tossed in for good measure. It was not a good film, which is a shame because the elements of a good film were there. I'd love to see a remake of it in a few years with a bit more character development and a few more things better explained.
All in all, the story was fairly predictable, particularly after the birthday party scene. The ending was somewhat satisfying, even though that too was somewhat predictable as the final scene progresses. What the film does well, it does well. There is no "horror" to speak of (other than the clown. I hate clowns). However, there were many unsettling scenes that let to an undercurrent of unease that lasted the entire movie. A lot of people have compared this movie to a combination of "The Shining" with "It." I would suggest that it's more like a combination of "Needful Things" combined with "It," with a bit of sociopathy tossed in for good measure. It was not a good film, which is a shame because the elements of a good film were there. I'd love to see a remake of it in a few years with a bit more character development and a few more things better explained.