Haunter (2013)

To me, this movie is perfection.

Memorable, crazy movie

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

at first this film reminded me of most 80's horror movies I.E , not much happening in the first hour or so , but when the movie starts to tie together WOW - very original and very well acted , the story line was so well written and deep , I won't say it had me on the edge of my seat , but it did keep my attention , even though after the first 20 minutes I wasn't sure it would , but I am glad I stuck with it , sometimes it does pay off and you get to watch something surprisingly good. if you are a fan of psychological rather than all action slasher , then this is a film for you - think of groundhog day meets the others , and you will get my drift .

I wanted to watch a ghostly flick and was not disappointed with "Haunter". A teenage girl tries to reach out to the living to prevent them from bad things to come. I was positively surprised by the acting of the protagonist. Very convincing for her age. The story is interesting and has scary moments. But it doesn't only feed on scares. You get tension and surprise moments. Its not gory though. The setting is limited but that didn't bother too much because it makes sense and doesn't get boring. It got me till the end. One of the best movies of that genre I have watched so far.

After being told for ages by a family friend that Abigail Breslin is an underrated modern Scream Queen,I was pleased to find one of Breslin's Horror titles being sold at a local DVD shop for £2! Taking a look at some old issues of UK film mag Empire recently,I noticed Kim Newman give a review where he praised it as a straight to video breakout,which led to me decided that it was time to get haunted.The plot-1984:Waking up the day before her 16th birthday, Lisa goes downstairs,and spends the day planning with her family about where to go on her birthday,whilst Lisa's dad Bruce tries to fix the car.Waking up the next morning,Lisa is horrified to discover that she is re-living the entire day.As the day repeats itself for weeks on end,Lisa tries to make the rest of her family aware of the time loop they are stuck in,but finds that when she wakes up that everyone is back to being completely unaware. Failing to change the family routine,Lisa starts investigating every corner of the house,where Lisa soon discovers that she and her family are not the only ones trapped in a time-warp.View on the film:Casting the location against Gothic Horror fog and an icy score from Alex Khaskin,director Vincenzo Natali and cinematographer Jon Joffin enter the house with an extraordinary creepy atmosphere.Locked up in the house, Natali and Joffin cloud the house in long,lingering shadows which give the house an excellent doom-laden mood.Working in time with editor Michael Doherty, Natali unlocks the secrets of the house with dazzling stylisation,as jagged overlapping images and blazing tracking shots bask the film in a gripping,tense vibe,as Lisa starts breaking the foundation of the house.Initially giving the parents a sweet appearance,the screenplay by Brian King takes the unique approach of keeping the family away from being the "monster",with King (a good last name for a Horror writer!) instead allowing some breathing room for the scenes with Lisa and her well-meaning,but flawed family.Putting everyone in a time spin,King superbly weaves dark comedy,mind-bending time travel and nerve-shredding horror. Pilling up the time-loops,King gives each loops its own distinctive quality by linking each darkly comedic family moment with the sinister mystery,that King opens up in an expert manner,which cleverly allows the viewer to put the bricks of the house together with Lisa.Wrapped in thick dark shades, Stephen McHattie gives a fantastic performance as the mysterious "Pale Man",with McHattie cracking brittle voice breaking the "perfect" façade of the house. Leaving a bedroom filled with iconic Rock posters, Abigail Breslin gives an excellent performance as Lisa,thanks to Breslin being able to deliver a scream with real guts,and also giving Lisa a deep sense of determination to solve the mystery,which Breslin links with a delicate consideration over what effect the time loop is having on her family,as Lisa tries to find the haunter.

Five minutes into the movie I'm thinking: "Oh, no. Another scary movie with a petulant teenager with behavior problems though she comes from a decent family." Not too long after that she reveals that she and her family have been reliving the same day over and over yet she is the only one that realizes it, hence the attitude towards her parents. The movie got significantly better from there.Although "Haunter" stole some ideas from other movies that's not an issue because what is truly original anymore? There were a few hair raising and bogeyman moments but the movie was built upon the situation Lisa (Abigail Breslin) and her family were in and how they could get out of it.Abigail was the star of the movie and she held her own. As for the story, it was decent and there weren't any SMH moments from anyone doing cliché scary movie stunts.