A "better than it should be", childhood nightmare come to life!
This movie has it's problems. In fact, I would say that it has a few glaring plot holes, or maybe I just missed a few details. I can do that, be listening and paying as close attention as possible and still miss a few details. But there are some things that are done here just to advance the plot, and one of them is rather integral to the entire story...in fact, without it there wouldn't be one. So, before I confuse anyone else let's dig in shall we?
The movie starts off with a young boy Juan having a nightmare. I tall figure with no face attempts to abduct him from his room and his mom saves him just in the nick of time. It's a great little action sequence, that sets the mood for what we are about to witness. Oh, and the boy and his mom both speak Spanish, so we are reading subtitles. Flash to a birthday party being held for 12 year old Mia (fantastic performance by Ella Purnell). They are currently at John's (Clive Owen, also very good here) grandparent's house. Her grandparents cat goes into the woods and Mia follows him up a tree. The cat seems interested in a hollow in the tree, and so Mia sticks her hand down into the hollow to see what is in there. Ok, I don't think I would ever stick MY hand in a hollow in a tree. I kept expecting her to get stung by bees or hornets or something. Regardless, she retrieves a box with a partially written story in it. It's a kind of horror story about a character called "Hollowface", and she uses it as her own story in class. But it's unfinished and her teacher wants her to complete it, so she sets about the task of finishing the story.
Bad stuff starts to happen. We are shown dual stories...one of the boy Juan and his mother trying to get rid of "Hollowface", as it is stalking her son...and Mia and her confrontations with Hollowface. So the story sort of switches between the two. The more Mia writes, the more Hollowface makes his presence. It's as if what she writes is coming to life. Juan on the other hand is just terrifed, and his mom too. Great performances as well by Izan Corchero and Pilar Lopez de Ayala in these scenes from Milan. She is driven to see a priest to try to exorcise the demon, but he and his fellow clergy are skeptical that there is anything wrong. Meanwhile, things in Mia's world are getting violent, and John actually has an altercation with "Hollowface" in her room. The mom (Carice van Houten) just does what she can to try to protect her daughter. But when Hollowface attacks her again and "steals her speech", by covering her mouth, things are taken up a level. Meanwhile Juan's attacks are seemingly getting worse as well. The question you should ask is, why is "Hollowface" after both of these children. As things get increasingly traumatic...they install camera's to try to catch the intruder that attacked Mia from her closet. But the camera shows no one there. Is John insane, and what does it have to do with Juan? All shall be revealed as it speeds towards a mostly CDI conclusion.
The acting in this is really good. Clive Owen is fantastic as the father trying to deal with his daughter's plight. And Ella Purnell plays Mia with aplomb. It's top notch from all performers and it helps sell the story. I also loved the cinematography in this. "Hollowface" is really creepy looking, and it reminded me of the "death" character in The Frighteners. Also, it has a pretty stunning symphonic score, that is used to accentuate the tension. I will confess that while I do understand most of the film, there are some things that remained unanswered afterwards. But despite this, I would be lying if I said I didn't really enjoy this film. It definitely kept my interest and the acting was really solid. I just wish they would not have relied so much on CGI for the ending sequence...as the rest of the movie went for more practical effects. But as far as childhood nightmare films go, this is a really effective spookfest. The dual storylines keep it interesting, all the way to the surprise twist ending.
This film is really underrated in my opinion. Despite some logic flaws, this is a very clever and engaging thriller.
8 out of 10
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