I give this one only a 9 because I try to save 10s for films like Kubrick's The Shining. It is evident that the other reviewers talking about this film have no idea what Horror is. This is a slow-burn, so get ready for a buildup to a really great finale with a powerful message. One reviewer calls it "propaganda." But what film or other work of art isn't slanted one way or another? The Insidious films, for example, promote the ludicrous idea that clairvoyance (witchcraft--take it from a former practitioner) trumps any kind of Christian guidance--and the Bible is even made fun of in installment 4. The jump scares are minimal here and, truthfully, almost expected before they happen. And then what the viewer sees isn't scary at all, but heartwarming (in most instances). I can be agreed that this film doesn't have the freakiness of Rob Zombie slasher or the action of Winchester or maybe the utter terror associated with The Conjuring 2, but not one of those movies--and a plethora of others--is as smart, or as culturally and socially pertinent and poignant, as Wraith. Many accolades to the director Michael O. Sajbel (One Night with the King), the quartet of actors who make up the haunted family, and, of course, the incomparable Lance Henrikson (Millennium; TV series). The supporting cast is also very believable, and the daughter, played by Catherine Frances, is realistic for her age to the point that one might think she was picked out of a church youth group one Friday night and asked to be in a Horror film. I can't say enough about the story-line behind this heroic groundbreaking, and hopefully seminal, film. Time well spent. I'll see it again, next time with my wife--who will shed tears, I just know it. And not because she thinks it's awful.
Review of Wraith
