I had high hopes going in, the box has it listed 4 stars, its rated high on RT, Rogerebert.com gave it a 3/4. It really shows the disconnect between audiences and critics however. The movie is well put together in most aspects, the acting is strong and at times it can be quite tense. But the plot is broken, there are two different movies going on and they are stuck together by tape.
The first half is very bubbly and charming, it goes a great length in creating an attachment to the characters. This could have been a very entertaining comedy as two hotel clerks talk about a supposed ghost while they're underlying attraction to each other grows stronger. Then halfway through, we are confirmed that there is a ghost and the tone shifts completely. And the shift is very jarring, just BAM, here is the ghost, don't go in the basement. From here on, there are no more jokes and everyone sobers up. The lack of focus early on has major ramifications later on that hinder it from really taking off as a horror movie.
The second half is done well but it is still not quite fleshed out. We are never given quite enough information on the ghost to really discern anything about her. We are led to believe in the beginning that she was someone that committed suicide when her fiancé stood her up on their wedding day but then I got the impression that a guest that comes to the hotel was her husband. His suicide note speaks of his wife, he is emotionally attached to the room she died in,and his spirit seems to assist her but that contradicts the story we were told. There is no need for motivation in ghost stories but there needs to be at least some sort of explanation what happened. It gives the audience some sort of reasoning, something to grasp onto and make them believe the character has some sort of chance even if it is just to be taken away.
What gets me the worse about the story is the implication that there are three benefactor spirits. Its mentioned by the actress that they died in some tragedy and were warning Claire to stay out of the basement. The problem is, when? They were never brought up before nor heard from again by a character that plays a pivotal role for Claire's character. There isn't even any ghostly evidence of their existence, like they were cut from the script and the director forgot to fix the one line. It could be that the actress is trying to frame her warning, but why? Why not just say it was the ghost? Why mention some vague tragedy that no one seems aware of? And why 3? If she is framing her advice, it's like a person with a bag on their head trying to prove they aren't crazy by trading their paper bag for plastic.
The ending has impact because Claire was a likable character but her death really has no build. Its quite obvious what is going to come, she locks the bilco door and seals her own fate, but there was no twists and turns that made it seem she was going to escape. The lack of catharsis makes for a forgettable finale, certainly not one that deserves such a high score elsewhere.
The first half is very bubbly and charming, it goes a great length in creating an attachment to the characters. This could have been a very entertaining comedy as two hotel clerks talk about a supposed ghost while they're underlying attraction to each other grows stronger. Then halfway through, we are confirmed that there is a ghost and the tone shifts completely. And the shift is very jarring, just BAM, here is the ghost, don't go in the basement. From here on, there are no more jokes and everyone sobers up. The lack of focus early on has major ramifications later on that hinder it from really taking off as a horror movie.
The second half is done well but it is still not quite fleshed out. We are never given quite enough information on the ghost to really discern anything about her. We are led to believe in the beginning that she was someone that committed suicide when her fiancé stood her up on their wedding day but then I got the impression that a guest that comes to the hotel was her husband. His suicide note speaks of his wife, he is emotionally attached to the room she died in,and his spirit seems to assist her but that contradicts the story we were told. There is no need for motivation in ghost stories but there needs to be at least some sort of explanation what happened. It gives the audience some sort of reasoning, something to grasp onto and make them believe the character has some sort of chance even if it is just to be taken away.
What gets me the worse about the story is the implication that there are three benefactor spirits. Its mentioned by the actress that they died in some tragedy and were warning Claire to stay out of the basement. The problem is, when? They were never brought up before nor heard from again by a character that plays a pivotal role for Claire's character. There isn't even any ghostly evidence of their existence, like they were cut from the script and the director forgot to fix the one line. It could be that the actress is trying to frame her warning, but why? Why not just say it was the ghost? Why mention some vague tragedy that no one seems aware of? And why 3? If she is framing her advice, it's like a person with a bag on their head trying to prove they aren't crazy by trading their paper bag for plastic.
The ending has impact because Claire was a likable character but her death really has no build. Its quite obvious what is going to come, she locks the bilco door and seals her own fate, but there was no twists and turns that made it seem she was going to escape. The lack of catharsis makes for a forgettable finale, certainly not one that deserves such a high score elsewhere.