I did not find this movie a bit entertaining. In spite of the fact that many (TOO many) people die in appalling ways, there is no feeling of scariness, no thrills, no suspense, no atmosphere, and no jumps. When you finally get to see the ghost girl, in spite of all the evil things you know that she has done, you do not feel any fear.
This movie OUGHT to be scary and entertaining, because it is about a ghost child in an old house, and there is also a mystery that Julia (the main character) is trying to unravel by visiting people who might know what happened thirty years ago... That is: just the kind of horror movie I would like. But - it falls completely flat.
It is also difficult to understand. Too little is actually shown. You are left guessing. When I had watched it through I was not sure if I had understood the ending, so I had to go back and watch it a second time... Also when Julia's daughter died at the beginning, it was difficult to understand what was really happening. And at another point, when the ghost girl's toys could not be photographed, this was also not shown properly - I missed it at first and had to go back. You have to concentrate very hard at all times, and you often have to guess what is happening.
Maybe some movie buffs prefer movies that are "difficult", but a horror movie, I think, should be entertaining first of all. It should be easy to understand what is going on, if not at first at least all questions should be answered later in a way that cannot be mistaken. If you try to make a horror movie into something else, it will unfailingly disappoint people who were hoping for something scary and thrilling that would make them forget about their own problems for a little while. After all, that is what movies - and especially horror movies - are for. It comes as no surprise, that this movie was a failure when it was first released.
This movie OUGHT to be scary and entertaining, because it is about a ghost child in an old house, and there is also a mystery that Julia (the main character) is trying to unravel by visiting people who might know what happened thirty years ago... That is: just the kind of horror movie I would like. But - it falls completely flat.
It is also difficult to understand. Too little is actually shown. You are left guessing. When I had watched it through I was not sure if I had understood the ending, so I had to go back and watch it a second time... Also when Julia's daughter died at the beginning, it was difficult to understand what was really happening. And at another point, when the ghost girl's toys could not be photographed, this was also not shown properly - I missed it at first and had to go back. You have to concentrate very hard at all times, and you often have to guess what is happening.
Maybe some movie buffs prefer movies that are "difficult", but a horror movie, I think, should be entertaining first of all. It should be easy to understand what is going on, if not at first at least all questions should be answered later in a way that cannot be mistaken. If you try to make a horror movie into something else, it will unfailingly disappoint people who were hoping for something scary and thrilling that would make them forget about their own problems for a little while. After all, that is what movies - and especially horror movies - are for. It comes as no surprise, that this movie was a failure when it was first released.