After her boyfriend Calvin (Eversman) talks her into playing a sinister game with his uncle (Massee) for some extra cash, the teenaged Hannah (Rickards) returns home and realises that something horrible is happening to her. Years later, estate agent Leigh (Sandino Moreno) is having some problems selling the girl's family home, because something malevolent seems to lurk there. And soon this sinister presence also lures in Leigh's artist sister Vera (Rivera), who really needs to figure out what's happening before it's too late.

Right from the opening scene, the film has a demonic slant to it that's a lot of fun, even if most of the jolts are fairly predictable. While both the antichrist motif and the economic crisis setting are badly underdeveloped, writer-director McCarthy has some intriguing surprises up his sleeve that keep us guessing about where things are headed. And it also helps to have actors we're not used to seeing in this kind of movie, because they continually throw us off the scent.

All of the actors bring out plenty of texture in their rather thinly written characters. Sandino Moreno lends her hapless role some weight as a young woman who is going it alone in life, perhaps not by choice, while her sexy younger sister has a charming boyfriend (Russell) and an edgy, artistic career far more exciting than selling empty houses. Rivera and Rickards also have under-developed characters, but add plenty of interest in the way they react to what's happening around them. And ultimately Rivera proves adept at carrying the entire movie on her shoulders.

Along the way, McCarthy fills the screen with the usual nuttiness, including an ominous scary-movie score, eerie noises, buzzing flies and faintly ridiculous glimpses of the demon that's causing all the nastiness. Aside from him, the effects are subtle and clever. But several elements are painfully obvious, like having Rickards' troubled teen wear a bright red hoodie. And the editing is very uneven, with scenes that feel rushed or strangely anticlimactic. But even if the film lurches in fits and starts, the ultimate sensation is enjoyably unsettling.

themes, language, violence

9.Jun.14