A young man(Jensen Ackles), with a very promising future, finds that his violent dreams are becoming frightening real when an Internet game, called The Pathway, introduced to him by his troubled pal Conrad(Teach Grant)might by controlled by Satan himself! What's even worse is the fact that his "waking" nightmares are used in killing his friends and family. He seeks comfort in the arms of beautiful nurse Marisol(Shannyn Sossamon)who attends to his crippled wheelchair ridden mother. Dakota(the very, very sexy Dominique Swain)is Jake's friend/sometimes-lover who was a product of molestation and now receives visits from her professor so that she can pass. Aiden Kater(Martin Cummins)is the creator of The Pathway game, who practiced black magic in Satanism. Ivan(William Sadler) is the Master Satanist who quit teaching others when Aiden supposedly sacrificed his wife and child to the Devil. Jake has a deeper connection to Ivan than he realizes. There's reason why he has survived while others, such as his two friends, succumbed to suicide after killing those who caused them harm in life.
I felt the development of the premise and it's characters feel rushed. I felt like there was some post-production tinkering which leaves plot holes and inconsistencies. Such as what happens to Dakota. While we actually do see what occurs to Conrad from the phone call that coerces him through emotional manipulation into murdering a person he had issues with, we might not see his death take place, but do get a glimpse of the horrifying "suicide." But, Dakota's exit from the film isn't fully realized and all we really know is that she murdered the man troubling her finishing herself off through self-mutilation. It's a scene totally left out of the film and is quite an important part of the development of the story. Anyway, later Jake is knocked unconscious by Conrad's ghost(?)and he awakens in Aiden's plush mansion. I can't understand this, but oh well. Aiden is here to inform us who Jake really is. Instead of developing Aiden, he's plopped in the flick for a few minutes and dispatched. Ivan's wife, Anne, is a major part of the grand scheme of things and we see who she has been emulating so to stay close to Jake. The final thirty or so minutes really rushes a build up during the film. Someone calls Jake's Uncle Ross on the phone. We do not know who it was. It would've been nice to know. He later is found by Jake and Marisol. And, then the film makes a bold statement that what we have witnessed, including the revealing of the Demon behind the Pathway possessions, could be just figments of Jake's demented mind. He asks for us to help him. The director and screenplay writer are the ones who needed help the most. Oh, and I do admit that Swain is an absolute sexpot, but perhaps she could try other roles that just the slut. She's become quite typecast.
I felt the development of the premise and it's characters feel rushed. I felt like there was some post-production tinkering which leaves plot holes and inconsistencies. Such as what happens to Dakota. While we actually do see what occurs to Conrad from the phone call that coerces him through emotional manipulation into murdering a person he had issues with, we might not see his death take place, but do get a glimpse of the horrifying "suicide." But, Dakota's exit from the film isn't fully realized and all we really know is that she murdered the man troubling her finishing herself off through self-mutilation. It's a scene totally left out of the film and is quite an important part of the development of the story. Anyway, later Jake is knocked unconscious by Conrad's ghost(?)and he awakens in Aiden's plush mansion. I can't understand this, but oh well. Aiden is here to inform us who Jake really is. Instead of developing Aiden, he's plopped in the flick for a few minutes and dispatched. Ivan's wife, Anne, is a major part of the grand scheme of things and we see who she has been emulating so to stay close to Jake. The final thirty or so minutes really rushes a build up during the film. Someone calls Jake's Uncle Ross on the phone. We do not know who it was. It would've been nice to know. He later is found by Jake and Marisol. And, then the film makes a bold statement that what we have witnessed, including the revealing of the Demon behind the Pathway possessions, could be just figments of Jake's demented mind. He asks for us to help him. The director and screenplay writer are the ones who needed help the most. Oh, and I do admit that Swain is an absolute sexpot, but perhaps she could try other roles that just the slut. She's become quite typecast.