The beginning of a horror movie is often familiar to viewers. It's up to each film to subsequently diverge in a way that is clever, holds attention, and genuinely frightens. Unfortunately, this movie failed on all counts.
BAD ACTING: w/ the exception of the lead character and possibly the aunt, most of the characters were clichéd, unbelievable, & unsympathetic.
SHAKY PLOT: I'm able to suspend my disbelief quite a bit. However, too many elements in this film don't make sense or tie together, even given assumptions of the supernatural. - Several of the characters (Robbie, the sheriff) were superfluous, adding nothing to the plot. - Perception of a shared delusion among girls in town (only triggered by prior knowledge) is far-fetched. If everyone believed that these girls had either been delusional or copycats, the fact that Larry divulged vague details to Jordan about ghosts would be meaningless. Jordan wasn't told anything about the twins or the fact that other girls had claimed to be "haunted." Larry's slip would in fact ONLY matter if her condition had a supernatural origin - an assumption not considered by anyone. - The fact that one or both of the twins repeatedly tried to hurt/kill Jordan - but supposedly wanted to send a message – is contrived. You can't have it both ways. Either ghosts are evil & want to kill, or they have unfinished business & try to communicate w/ the living. Both can't be true simultaneously - at least not without significant character development & backstory, neither of which occurred. The lame excuse thrown in towards the end that "Heather has a temper" is ridiculous. - If the ghosts could bring Jordan outside and nearly drown her in the bathtub, surely they would've been able to remove the ring from her finger. If anything, the ring was meant to stay on Jordan's finger to enable her to appreciate its significance & connect it to the other rings she eventually found/noticed. If the twins had really wanted to communicate, they would've left the ring alone. This entire subplot was obviously a weak (and failed) attempt to tie together disparate story elements. I could concede finding the ring in the jewelry box & suddenly realizing the truth, but the repetitive actions of touching fingers together were a big stretch. You can't just reveal something supposedly crucial (i.e., the dad and the twins having parts of the same ring) at the eleventh hour & expect viewers to accept it.
- What was the purpose of revealing the aunt & uncle's drug habit? It merely showed that they were hypocrites, but their morals were already questionable due to their mistreatment of Jordan. This didn't add anything.
INCONSISTENCIES: - No psychiatrist would hold an intervention and allow outsiders to be present (his son, Robbie & the sheriff). This is highly unprofessional and unethical. - No psychiatrist would allow, much less encourage, emotionally fragile, impressionable patients to visit a death row prisoner. No sound-minded parents would permit this, either. - No death row prisoner (or possibly other prisoners) would be able to receive multiple visits from random strangers, much less underage girls. Visits would have to be negotiated in advance, w/ background checks conducted, clearances provided, etc. - No prisoner on death row would be permitted a last-minute visit from a stranger ON THE NIGHT OF EXECUTION. This is beyond absurd. - If the aunt & uncle had been smart enough to avoid any prior suspicion, wouldn't they have been smart enough to check if Larry had departed before having an all-too-incriminating conversation outside the house?
LOOSE ENDS - What was the point of Robbie calling Jordan, saying she wasn't crazy & asking her to meet him? Nothing ever came of this. At best, this was a case of bad editing. At worst, it was yet another dangling plot point. - What was the point of Jordan's aunt revealing that Robbie had a history of rape? This fact has no bearing to the plot. If it was meant as a red herring, it failed. Red herrings must be convincing in order to be meaningful. - Why introduce the father about to be executed? We can presume that he is killed as planned, since we aren't told otherwise. We haven't known him long enough to care, yet most viewers wouldn't like an innocent man being killed. This is pointless. - We are never told how the twins were killed. This information would be important. It could have been used as clues to tie the twins' murder in with the subsequent deaths of the girls, and even Jordan's mother. Instead, the viewers are left hanging in this regard. - We are never given the motives for killing the twins in the first place. We can surmise that the other murders covered their tracks, but why the first murders? Aside from a few vague morsels, we aren't privy to the aunt & uncles' psyches. In order to be sold on their guilt, it's necessary to have explanation and insight into the characters (both of which were absent).
LACK OF SURPRISE - Once the uncle buckles Jordan's seat belt and lingers on her, we knew we was sketchy. I immediately suspected he had killed the twins. This was a bit too obvious. - Once we discover that the aunt & uncle had been responsible for all of the girls' purported "suicides," I realized that Jordan's mother was among this group. Why would it take Jordan so long to connect the dots?
It isn't often that I'm unable to identify any redeeming value from a film. This is one of those rare cases. I only gave it three stars due to the likable character of Jordan (played nicely by the lead actress), and the fact that I didn't predict the aunt's involvement in the murders.
