Customer Reviews

The Attic

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Stupid, stupid, stupid...85 minutes of my life wasted watching this stinker that I'll never get back - please don't make the same mistake!

The Attic (Mary Lambert, 2008)

This is another one of those movies with endless promise that failed completely in the execution. Lambert (The In Crowd) gathered together a sterling cast and presented them with a script (by Tom Malloy, also responsible for The Alphabet Killer, co-written with Robert M. Reitano, an Emmy-winning editor) that desperately needed another few rewrites.

In this one, Emma (Elisabeth Moss from TV's Mad Men) and her family--father Graham (John Savage), mother Kim (Catherine Mary Stuart), and mentally challenged brother Frankie (Love 'n Dancing's Tom Malloy)--have moved out to the country. Emma hasn't left the house since the move. Part of it seems to stem from agoraphobia (one of the places the script could have used a bit of work was in illustrating this better), and the other part from an encounter she had in the attic; when exploring, she uncovered a mirror that seemed to show her not a reflection of herself, but an entirely different person who looks exactly like her. Her inability to leave the house handicaps her when it comes to investigating, which becomes necessary when weird things start happening, but she finds a tenuous ally in a local detective, John Trevor (Sex and the City's Jason Lewis). Together, the two of them have to find out what the deal is with Emma's supposed twin before the twin comes for her family, and for Emma herself.

While the ending is pretty predictable (and the plot twist in the final scene you should be able to see coming from a mile off), that doesn't necessarily make for a bad movie; if there had been anything before that to offset it. There was certainly enough of a chance for that to happen, with so much starpower here, but everyone comes off flat and uninspiring. I normally like John Savage in just about anything, but even he couldn't save this one. Elisabeth Moss gets a lot of screen time, and she's gorgeous, but that's about the only thing I can say to recommend this. **

I would definitely recommend The Attic.It's a great movie.It will keep you suspenseful throughout until the end.You won't believe the ending.

Terrible (over-)acting, very low production values, unimaginative direction and camera work, ridiculously bad dialog plus an even dumber "story". Buying this ultra-cheap wannabe-thriller is not even a waste of your money, you'll also regret the 80 minutes you spent subjecting yourself to this dreck. So don't even think about it!

HUGE waste of money/time...
the only thing that kept me watching was laughing at the terrible story/acting.

srsly terribad

After moving into her family's new home, a college student Emma (Elisabeth Moss) starts seeing things. Apparently all these spooky images have something to do with herself and her father (John Savage). Terrified Emma refuses to go out, feeling that she is gradually losing sanity while her only hope is John Trevor (Jason Lewis), a local detective and possible love interest who offers his help to unravel the mystery and end her plight.

The plot of "The Attic" may look pretty nice, but the end result is just horrible, absolute mess that you will regret spending your time watching. Characters behave illogically with lots of overacting that is not fun to watch. Poorly written and edited, the film is not scary at all, not a single moment. There are even several major plot holes that actors are desperately trying to ignore.

The film is directed by Mary Lambert, best known as director of Stephen King horror "Pet Sematary." It was 20 years ago, and though the film is not a classic, it is still mildly entertaining. Now she made "The Attic," a plodding and confusing horror film that is devoid of scares, even unintentional laughs. My advice: Avoid this one.

As part of my annual Halloween tradition, I will look up old classics, and some new horror movies that I might have missed. Well, I'm sorry to have watched this pathetic excuse for a horror movie. The story features Elizabeth Moss as a college student, Emma who begins to have strange visions after moving into her new home. She begins to retreat into herself, and feels like she is losing her grip on reality. Jason Lewis portrays a detective who attempts to help her.

The acting is lackluster and except for Moss, most of the other actors seem to be just going through the motions. The effects are terrible, and the scares are non-existent (the usual appearing and disappearing specter). The movie also suffers from trite dialogue and poor direction. Pass on this one.

Thought this movie had some great qualities to it. Mary Lambert gave this film great direction; and a solid cast kept the suspense flowing throughout the entire time you watched.

A good horror to enjoy that will take you on a thrill ride!!