After the death of his aunt, level-headed lawyer Bryan Becket (Timothy Daly of 'Wings') moves into her old house to get things in order with her estate. After learning the house was signed over to a paranormal research lab instead of to him, the unbelieving Bryan begins to delve into the mysteries of the house which his seemingly senile aunt believed to be haunted by malevolent forces. As the days pass and his experiences begin to mirror those of his aunt's, Bryan begins to question his own lack of beliefs and fights to find answers to what is happening in the house.
When this film was first being released, the cast list certainly confused quite a few people. Tim Daly & Tom Arnold have both been fairly out of the limelight since the '90s, which was where the vast majority of their fame came & went. Therefore, it wasn't a huge surprise to see them working in the low-budget, straight-to-video horror sector which is many careers come to die (though Daly is a talented actor, I must say). However, added to those two was an up-and-coming A-list star: the beautiful Zoë Saldaña, who has been featured in such recent blockbusters as 'Star Trek' and 'Avatar.' She was really the selling point to many, and it really was a blessing to this film to have her because I'm sure it would've been seen by a great lot less than it even was.
The film itself does, in fact, warrant a viewing though, with or without the inclusion of Zoë. While haunted-house flicks are not rare to come by in any sector of horror, quality ones or even ones worthy of a watch are very hard to come by. Many horror fans would be hard-pressed to name more than a few solid haunt flicks from the past few years. The main reason for this, perhaps, is because the lack of focus on suspense & tension, which is a shame because those are the elements of good horror that don't require a big budget, just talented filmmakers. For this reason, it's always a real pleasure to find one that slips under the radar and can rise above the rest as a "hidden gem." It seems that 'The Skeptic' can fill that role pretty well.
From a technical standpoint, it is a cut above most straight-to-video horror films, which often have a very cheap & unappealing look to them. Newcomer writer/director Tennyson Bardwell (could there be a better name for a writer?) shows some real talent behind the camera, especially with the help of his editing team led by Ann Marie Lizzi. The script, though lacking in anything spectacularly fresh or original, keeps a pace that never races too fast or slows too much. It did not seem, at any point, to be boring, which can be a disastrous problem for many haunted-house horrors. The acting from Daly & Saldaña was solid, as expected, even with Daly's character being painfully frustrating for much of the film. Then there was Tom Arnold who was his usual annoyingly over-the-top self. Even more annoying than his acting was the fact that he now sounds like he has a perpetually stuffed nose à la Chuckie Finster from 'Rugrats.' Other than that, though, there isn't much to complain about. It does have quite a few chilling scenes and a couple of seriously creepy moments, helped along by both the visual teams and the script.
Overall, the film is not perfect as anyone will see, but what it does right makes it worth the time. It is a solidly creepy & very effective haunted-house thriller with enough mystery, suspense, and scares to keep fans of the subgenre pleased for its 90 minute runtime.
Final Verdict: 6.5/10
-AP3-
When this film was first being released, the cast list certainly confused quite a few people. Tim Daly & Tom Arnold have both been fairly out of the limelight since the '90s, which was where the vast majority of their fame came & went. Therefore, it wasn't a huge surprise to see them working in the low-budget, straight-to-video horror sector which is many careers come to die (though Daly is a talented actor, I must say). However, added to those two was an up-and-coming A-list star: the beautiful Zoë Saldaña, who has been featured in such recent blockbusters as 'Star Trek' and 'Avatar.' She was really the selling point to many, and it really was a blessing to this film to have her because I'm sure it would've been seen by a great lot less than it even was.
The film itself does, in fact, warrant a viewing though, with or without the inclusion of Zoë. While haunted-house flicks are not rare to come by in any sector of horror, quality ones or even ones worthy of a watch are very hard to come by. Many horror fans would be hard-pressed to name more than a few solid haunt flicks from the past few years. The main reason for this, perhaps, is because the lack of focus on suspense & tension, which is a shame because those are the elements of good horror that don't require a big budget, just talented filmmakers. For this reason, it's always a real pleasure to find one that slips under the radar and can rise above the rest as a "hidden gem." It seems that 'The Skeptic' can fill that role pretty well.
From a technical standpoint, it is a cut above most straight-to-video horror films, which often have a very cheap & unappealing look to them. Newcomer writer/director Tennyson Bardwell (could there be a better name for a writer?) shows some real talent behind the camera, especially with the help of his editing team led by Ann Marie Lizzi. The script, though lacking in anything spectacularly fresh or original, keeps a pace that never races too fast or slows too much. It did not seem, at any point, to be boring, which can be a disastrous problem for many haunted-house horrors. The acting from Daly & Saldaña was solid, as expected, even with Daly's character being painfully frustrating for much of the film. Then there was Tom Arnold who was his usual annoyingly over-the-top self. Even more annoying than his acting was the fact that he now sounds like he has a perpetually stuffed nose à la Chuckie Finster from 'Rugrats.' Other than that, though, there isn't much to complain about. It does have quite a few chilling scenes and a couple of seriously creepy moments, helped along by both the visual teams and the script.
Overall, the film is not perfect as anyone will see, but what it does right makes it worth the time. It is a solidly creepy & very effective haunted-house thriller with enough mystery, suspense, and scares to keep fans of the subgenre pleased for its 90 minute runtime.
Final Verdict: 6.5/10
-AP3-