Directed by Akiva Goldsman. Written by Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowski. Starring Frank Grillo, Anna Torv, Shree Crooks and Harold Perrineau.
Plot: after a mysterious apocalyptic event, a young girl lives alone, in her home, hiding from a sinister force.
This is one movie where I completely understand the shitty reviews. The terrible story follows Stephanie (Crooks), who is all alone in a big house and living rather poorly. She’s eating unhealthy foods, having full on conversations with a stuffed animal, cutting herself on broken glass and hiding from some unseen monster. It is also revealed that her brother is dead in his bed, but she still visits with him, even though she blames him for her parents leaving her. And every now and then, when Stephanie watches the TV, we catch glimpses of the news talking of an “invasion” and “quarantines”.
But where are Stephanie’s parents? And why did they leave her all alone? That question is answered once her father (Grillo) and mother (Torv) return to the house. But the truth isn’t all that surprising. At least not to me. So, here are some spoilers, if you want them.
******SPOILERS AHEAD******
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When Stephanie’s mother and father return home, they seem surprised to see that Stephanie is still alive. They also keep insisting that she keep her emotions in check because if she doesn’t, the monsters will come. Of course, there are no “real” monsters. Stephanie is the monster. Her parents attempt a surgical procedure to stop the monster from coming out, but she puts a stop to it. Then, in a last-ditch effort to stop her, mother and father poison her cocoa, but Stephanie stops that, too. Her father shoots her several times, but it does nothing. She gets up afterward and kills them instead. And at the very end, the camera pans out to show that Stephanie is not the only monster. There are children all over the globe causing chaos. Yay.
What good can I say about this movie? The acting was pretty perfect. The specials were good, too. But there was no motive. Worse yet, there was no point. It had nothing of any significance to say. And there was a dead rabbit thrown in there for the sheer horror of it. Don’t like that. Don’t like the whole damn thing.
Our score: 25.
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