Sati's movie rating -
74/100
Plot: Jamie Ashen (Ryan Kwanten) comes home to find his wife Lisa
disfigured and dead in their apartment just minutes after a mysterious,
not to mention creepy, package was left on their doorstep containing an
old ventriloquist dummy. With no alibi, a detective is left to assume
Jamie as the prime suspect. Driven by an old ghost story, Jamie returns
to Ravens Fair, his old hometown to prove his innocence.
The heroes: Ladies and gentlemen, it's Jason Stackhouse!
The antagonists: Ventriloquist dummies and one scary, freaky, awesome villain that controls them.
Best scene: The first night Jaime spends in a motel.
Oh-oh something's not right line: If you go looking for answers, you just might find them.
Morbid Trivia:
During the climax, in the storage area with all 101 dolls, you can see
Jigsaw's doll from the "Saw" films sitting on the floor, and Edgar
Bergen's
doll Charlie McCarthy on one of the shelves. The doll that Detective
Lipton throws over his shoulder in this scene is a replica of
ventriloquist Jimmy Nelson's doll, Danny O'Day. Fun fact #2 - watch out
for Jigsaw doll in Warrens' special room with hunted objects in
The Conjuring.
I remember siting in the theatre more than a decade ago (God, I'm so freaking old...) and watching The Others. During one particularly intense jump scare, when the medium found the kids hiding in the closet, a woman who was sitting in the row few seats away from me jumped so high her popcorn fell out of the bucket. When I saw The Conjuring a woman in my row was weeping actual tears. It happened during the finale of the film and I'm not sure why it was, out of fear or because what was on the screen was so intense.
Let me say this upfront - I don't mind silly movies. Just few days ago I had a great time watching Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy in The Heat. It was dumb, but at least it wasn't boring. This is pretty much the minimum I ask of summer film - to entertain. So when I was checking my text messages during Pacific Rim, I knew that it failed for me.
