The stage curtains open ...
Based on a popular 1986 YA novel, this supernatural thriller was released 30 years later. I'd never heard of either the book or the film before today, but I was thumbing through some streaming options and found this one out there. I decided to give it a watch. I'm always up for a good, dark, mystery thriller - especially if there is a ghost involved. I have seen a few good ones, so I was hoping that this would surprise me and turn out to be a hidden gem.
Set in 1982, a family moves from Baltimore to a small, secluded town where all the kids attend one school. They move into an old church that has been converted into a house - and nearby, there is a cemetary and the ruins of another house which burned down over 200 years prior. We follow the story of Molly, the troubled teen that hates her new house and resents the fact that she is responsible for watching out for her younger sister, Heather. However, when Molly begins to believe that Heather is speaking to another young girl who is a ghost from the graveyard, and who has the same intials as Heather (H. E. H.) - she must put aside her frustrations and save her sister from a terrible fate.
Well, this wasn't a hidden gem, but it wasn't bad. To be honest, this is a rather, plain and average thriller. Color by numbers and formulaic. All the usual tropes are here: a teen girl who nobody believes or listens to, an old man who knows a thing or two about the dead, a visit to the library to uncover some pertinent history, and an ending complete with a vision of what happened leading to a life or death situation. There is absolutely nothing new or shocking, or even frightening here.
The film was shot very well though. The camera work and cinematography were excellent. The movie captures and holds an unsettling feeling from start to finish, and the pacing is never lagging. The story was well told and developed, and the acting was pretty good. This is the perfect ghost story for a young teen. Nothing too graphic or demonic. And for that demographic, I would recommend this film. But, for me personally, it was just "okay" - nothing special.
