Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #28948 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-09-07
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Colour, DVD-Video, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .25 pounds
• Running time: 92 minutes

Customer Reviews

PRETTY GOOD
Working in New York City, super-model Alison Parker, (Cristina Raines) is shown a new Brownstone apartment while away from Michael Lerman, (Chris Sarandon) her fiancée. Moving into the new building, she begins meeting the weird neighbors, including Charles Chazen, (Burgess Meredith) Gerde Engstrom, (Sylvia Miles) Sandra, (Beverly D'Angelo) and the reclusive Fr. Francis Matthew Halloran, (John Carradine) a blind priest who lives in the top floor. As she gets more and more sleepless nights due to some strange noises in the building, she decides to do some investigating and finds that the tenants have all died, and that she is next in line to take over the priest's position as the guardian against the forces of Hell being unleashed, for the apartment sits over a gateway to Hell. When her friends learn of her fate, they race to stop her before the evil forces conspire to keep her safe and secure.

The Good News: This, when it tried to be, was really good. One of the strongest aspects is the really clever and original story. Having a woman slowly go insane from the manifestations of past guilt as demons from hell trying to drive her to suicide is insanely clever and really interesting. It makes for some great viewing, as it slowly unfurls with a small clue here and there, from the pictures in her apartment to the Church's answer to her questions and her ability to see things that aren't there. Her guilt is also pretty original, being plagued by the memory of her first attempted suicide. One day, she accidentally interrupted her elderly father having sex with two obese women. It's just something not seen before, and it helps to make the film that much more memorable. When it goes for the scares, it's just brilliant. The iconic shot of her being startled by the zombie of her father is just brilliant, starting with some creepy noises above her demanding exploration of the apartment, and after some false scares, wanders into the unit when the flashlight goes out. Upon getting it to work, a door closes behind her and a figure walks right on by, scoring a huge jump that works every time. The last scene of the film has the hordes of Hell wandering the halls, and about half the "devils" are severely deformed people with large scars across the face, physical deformities, and other such appearances. The incredibly long chase through the house is quite intense and actually creepy, as there isn't anything more frightening than their sight coming after then. They score big, and is one of the film's highlights. The other one is the sleaze classic, when one of the two weirdo neighbors actually masturbates herself, with extreme vigor, through her leotard, finishes, and then smells her fingers in front of another beautiful woman. When asked what they do for a living, one replies that they fondle each other and then gropes her hands down her front, cupping her breast. The fact that the watcher is extremely uncomfortable in front of this while they go at it is quite sleazy, making for some unnatural scenes between the two. This film really isn't all that bad when it wants to be.

The Bad News: Despite it not being that bad, there were some nagging problems that are hard to ignore. One of the biggest is that there is just no real surprises in the film. It's quite easy to predict this film out, and it's not that hard to do it. It is clever and original, but the story can pretty much be figured out halfway through the film, and to spend all the time watching the characters go through the clues that will point to the answer the viewer has figured out long before isn't a good move, as it makes them nervous and anxious to get it moving. That is another problem with the film. Too much time is spent on red herrings and plot-lines that serve no purpose, and too little time in trying to scare the pants of the audience. There's plenty of potential for this to be a really creepy and suspenseful film, as evidenced when it gets things right, but when it switches over in the second-half to the investigation, a lot of momentum is lost. Had it featured more of the spirits trying to drive her insane with that being a nice subplot worked in, then it would've been tolerable at least. That after the second encounter nothing happens until the final minutes is a criminal shame, since that is the real big scene that gets the big scare, but to not capitalize on that is really distressing. Cap that off with several really out-there subplots that go nowhere and are quickly forgotten, this really could've had a little work to become something great. However, they instead just lower the rating due to the failed potential.

The Final Verdict: It's not that bad of a film, and it really does work when it wants to, but it's one where the negatives and the positives don't really win out. Some will love this, others will become bored, so if it sounds like something interesting, then give it a shot, though exercise caution otherwise.