In 1911, a brutal murder spree takes place in a household-the young son murders his mother, grandmother, cheating & abusive father and his two young sisters.
In 2011, a group of holidaymakers is driving to their resort. The group has the unhappily married couple McCormick (Val Kilmer) and Brooklyn (Bonnie Somerville), med student Adam (Matt Barr) and his older brother Isaac (Luke Goss) and a doctor named Lipski. On the way, they stop for drinks and meet the attractive shop girl Courtney (Rebecca Da Costa), who doesn’t seem interested in either Adam or the wandering McCormick.
When they have an accident shortly after and lose the driver, their only option seems to be going with the helpful stranger Jack (Ving Rhames). McCormick’s head injury is making him even more obnoxious, and the others just leave him lying down in one of the rooms. McCormick starts hearing noises and getting really freaked out, but no one really pays attention.
But after McCormick is murdered, the group starts freaking out. But there’s a really bad storm outsite, and it really seems safer inside.
After Adam returns home from a trip to the gas station with Courtney, things get even creepier as everyone starts to see the ghosts of the family from 1911. When they finally decide to leave, the car has been disabled. As the body count goes up, they start wondering why the hell Jack is so intent on keeping them there…
*
An ordinary concept with a cool edge gone wrong
We’re no stranger to haunted houses, psychotic strangers, stranded houses or a group of strangers finding themselves in the midst of a murder spree. But the movie successfully combines the elements up until we are revealed the motivation for Jack, and who the murderer is/murderers are. Then it goes downhill so badly and so fast that it makes you wonder what the hell the writer/director Kevin Carraway and co-writer Lawrence Sara were thinking.
I am not going to claim I could do better. I find that a solid horror/thriller is one of the most difficult genres to write, and so far I couldn’t come up with a good idea myself (yes, I do try-I also write fiction.) But what I can claim is that had I come up with this story, and found these actors, I sure as hell wouldn’t have the same last act of the film.
The ending, and the several events leading to the end, are just beyond ridiculous. You might just want to stop and write your own ending after we learn who Jack is.
*
Fun cast note:
You can watch Bonnie Somerville as Mona-Ross’ love interest on Friends in season 8. She also plays Gerard Butler’s sister in the romantic comedy The Ugly Truth.
