Half Light (2006) User Reviews

Surprisingly Chilling Little Movie.

[drownsoda90 · 7/10 · 8 September 2006]

"Half Light" is one surprise of a movie. The film is about a writer, Rachel Carson (Demi Moore) who tragically loses her young son when he drowns by the dock near their house in England. Devastated from the event, Rachel's friend rents her a secluded island cottage on the Scotland coast so she can relax and recover in the comfortable atmosphere, and conquer her current writer's block. But when she arrives to the little old cottage on the edge of the ocean, weird things start to happen. She has strange visions of her son, she spends time with a man living in a lighthouse who has supposedly been dead for seven years, and the townspeople are also quite strange. Real life terror and supernatural events drive Rachel into hysteria from there, as she tries to unravel a complex mystery.

This was a surprisingly chilling little thriller film, the atmosphere of the whole secluded ocean village was unique and neat, the little village set itself sitting right on the sandy beach. There are a lot of dark gray and foggy tones in the film, which add even more to the atmosphere. I liked the whole feeling the film had, it was isolated and eerie. It's kind of hard to explain, I can't really put my finger on it, but the whole atmosphere was foreboding and spooky. Demi Moore was great, she's a pretty believable actress from what I've seen. Her performance was realistic and fit the film well. The settings are great and really spooky on many occasions, particularly the small cottage and the old lighthouse. The story was rather original, and very subtle with overall good writing. The ending was a bit of a twist-ending, blending real-life horror with a supernatural addition, but it fit well and I wasn't disappointed with it (like some twist-endings leave me).

Overall, "Half Light" is a good little thriller film that caught me off guard, I was expecting something along the lines of cheap straight-to-video garbage. It's quite the contrary though. The Gothic, seaside atmosphere was excellent and well put-to-use in the film, and the creepy little story was well written with a satisfying conclusion. Fans of supernatural thrillers will definitely want to check this one out, it's a good one for sure. 7/10.

Surprisingly good... give it time!

[donjuanramirez · 7/10 · 16 January 2006]

I was lucky enough to see a copy of this with my wife recently... and wasn't entirely sure what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised! The acting of all characters was very good, with Ms. Moore putting in an excellent, yet sometimes implausible (scripting?), performance. The shooting of the film is excellent with the locations adding much to the feeling of the film. There are enough twists and turns in the plot to keep you guessing, even if you think you have it worked out within the first half, as we both did, you'll doubt yourself from then on in.

My one criticism is the start of the film. It feels somewhat piecemeal and directionless, perhaps on purpose to mirror the main characters state of mind, but it just doesn't seem to gel, and the scoring feels the same, however don't let that stop you watching this film as once past the first few scenes you will be tripping over yourself trying to figure it out.

All told this was a well produced, well filmed, well acted movie, and don't believe any of the 'horror' tags, it's more suspense/thriller, and very good to boot!

Scary Film

[whpratt1 · 7/10 · 28 July 2006]

This film will give chills up and down your spine not because of horror or blood shed, but just the simple location in Wales,UK and a mysterious cottage and naturally, a Light House. Demi Moore,(Rachel Carlson), a successful author of mystery novels wants to have a different location away from everyone and finds this very spiritual place, or you could say a purgatory for the living dead. Rachel encounters Henry Ian Cusick, (Brian),"The Gospel of John",'03 who seems to know a great deal about the Light House and its history and has some fun burying a Mother-0f Pearl sea shell in the sand as a symbol of lasting love. There are many twists and turns in this film and it is very well produced and directed. I must say, I have never seen Demi Moore looking so young and very sexy. Great entertaining film, enjoy.

Eerie Little Thriller

[delhart2001 · 18 November 2005]

This movie is good, well acted, well scripted, well directed, and above all, it will keep you guessing to the end, I do not know enough about "The Technical Side" of movie making to comment, all i know is, if i see a film i like, or for that matter dislike, then i will make a comment on it, after all its only entertainment. Too many times you read about the, ins and outs of film making, and all the back stage stuff, when really all you want to know is, will i enjoy this film, and the answer to Half Light is yes, no swearing, very little sex content,just a nice put together thriller, enough twists and turns to keep the momentum going. i am trying to find something to moan about in this movie, and to be quite honest there is nothing, Demi Moore is very good in the lead role, and the mainly British cast is excellent Go see it, judge for yourself, i do not think you will be disappointed.

I thoroughly enjoyed this flick!

[cayla-armatti · 7/10 · 19 April 2006]

I rented this expecting it to be a take-off of The Ring or The Forgotten. It wasn't like either of these films. If anything it was more like The Others. The scenery, music, and photography was gorgeous. The acting was believable. There is enough supernatural activity to send a shiver, but not enough to creep you out; also the violence is more implied, with only one scene with much blood, and a sensitive love scene with only implied nudity. No language that I can think of. I consider myself something of a movie buff, and am dumbfounded that this movie received so little acclaim, especially in the wake of other's like Cabin Fever and Cold Creek Manor which are much more "cheesily" done. It is not academy award material, but neither should it be overlooked.

Can you feel the chill, really spooky.

[baranj · 7/10 · 7 January 2006]

It was a really nice surprise for me, I didn't expect so good movie. What's it about? Rachel Carlson is a successful mystery novelist whose life falls apart when her 5-year-old son drowns at her country home. A year later, in an effort to heal her wounds and help her to start writing again, her best friend rents her a secluded cottage in a remote fishing village, where events unfold that rock the tranquil village and cause Rachel to fear for her sanity and her life. The main actress was Demi Moore, and I think she played her role excellent. To beginning, it was a little bit confusing because you don't know that is fake and what is real.

Euro..enjoy

pretty good actually

[camandsoph · 7/10 · 10 January 2006]

not a bad movie at all. more of a love story than a ghost story - but the two are woven together pretty successfully. The ending falls short, but the rest of the film is well planned.

Moore is an odd choice for the lead, but she turns out pretty good - despite a general unbelievable reaction to later events in the story ( but this is more script ).

some beautiful cinematography and settings, and a few creepy moments. Some good acting too ( but some mediochre stuff mixed in ). Its clear why this movie was not mainstream enough for the theatre, but its a worthy DVD rental or download. On the whole Its a strange one - i thought it was very good, but also not very good at the same time.

7/10

Playing with the Dead

[claudio_carvalho · 7/10 · 23 January 2007]

In London, the successful novelist Rachel Carlson (Demi Moore) is married with the mediocre aspirant writer and great editor Brian (Henry Ian Cusick) and they live in a comfortable apartment with her son Thomas Carlson (Beans Balawi). While writing a new novel, Rachel forgets the back gate open and Thomas drowns in a lake. Eight months later, Rachel is still disturbed and she decides to move alone to a seaside cottage in Ingonish Cove, a very small coastal Scottish village. Sarah decides to visit the lighthouse in the island close to her house to help in her research for the book, where she meets the lighthouse keeper Angus McCulloch (Hans Matheson). One month later, she falls for him and they make love. On the next morning, she invites Angus to go to a birthday party in the shore, and while waiting for him, she discloses that Angus McCulloch died seven years ago. Rachel returns to the island trying to prove her sanity to her neighbor Finlay Murray (James Cosmo), and they see that the lighthouse is completely empty. Rachel has a breakdown and she asks for help to her psychiatric Dr. Robert Freedman (Nicholas Gleaves) and to best friend Sharon Winton (Kate Isitt) while she is haunted by ghosts.

"Half Light" is a surprisingly good movie, having a great script, direction and performances. The plot is slowly disclosed, in a low pace, and shifts with many twists to the most opposite directions, all of them unexpected, with wonderful surprises. Demi Moore gives credibility to her grieving character and in the end this movie is above average and a good entertainment. The conclusion is not bad, but I believe it could have been more elaborated. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Protegida Por um Anjo" ("Protected by an Angel")

Wildly improbable

[Catharina_Sweden · 4/10 · 10 January 2013]

I think the problem with this movie is that it could not decide what it wanted to be. A ghost-story? A psychological thriller? A gore movie? Movies seldom turn out well, when movie-makers mix styles and elements like that. One somehow wants to know what to expect - roughly at least. I, for my part, had hoped for a traditional ghost story - and I was disappointed when it turned out that the culprits were human. And also by all the dead people, violence, and gore. It did not have any good scares either.

I think the plot was also wildly improbable. A husband and the wife's best friend falling in love with each other, and cooperating about killing the wife and living off her money. Yes, I can buy that. It has happened. But their plot was too extreme and improbable. There are thousands of ways to kill a person and make it look like an accident or a suicide. Especially as this woman already had a big grief and a lot of bad conscience after her son died. No one would have doubted her reasons to kill herself.

But to involve a third person, who wanted his share of the inheritance, and who could blackmail them later...? And to have this person act as a ghost - a very virile, fleshy ghost at that..? And to take the trouble to clean up and furnish the old light-house - and then take everything away again, and make it look as if no one had lived there for eight years..? The longer they stayed in the neighbourhood, the greater the risk that somebody should see them, and recognize them later... Another question: how could they even know of the tragedy in the light-house eight years earlier..? They were not from there.

No, this movie was a mistake, I think. I still give it four stars for the craggy nature scenery from Scotland, and some fine love-scenes and mother-child-scenes.

"not sufficiently mysterious for a mystery, not sufficiently thrilling for a thriller..."

[Specksynder · 6/10 · 30 January 2006]

A stereotyped script resulting in increased predictability combined with a flat but nonetheless decent direction leave an bland aftertaste of something seen a hundred times before, albeit filmed much better. The scenery is incorporated in the plot in a stylized way imbuing an overall "cliche" character to the whole endeavour manifested primarily in the various plot twists. I think the rebuffing comment ("not sufficiently mysterious for a mystery, not sufficiently thrilling for a thriller...") received by the heroine's spouse and inept writer in the beginning of the film, ironically emerges for "Halflight" as a fitting portrayal of a "tepid cup of tea", although i am not by origin the most appropriate person to pass such a judgement being not a fan of such a infusion.

Had me until the 1940 formula

[Nordicnorn · 4/10 · 11 June 2006]

Initially this had some very good potential. Rachel Carlson, a best selling author at the top of her game, loses her son in a tragedy that all mothers fear. Fast Forward and the viewer becomes aware that she is now separated from her less than successful husband (also a writer) and she decides to hermit herself away to finish her next book. Her dearest friend finds the perfect charming cottage for her across the bay from a lighthouse.

She begins to see/hear/feel creepy and downright scary things like toys turning on, horrible nightmares, visions and the like. Then... a wonderful, handsome man comes into her life - Angus, the lighthouse keeper. He lifts her spirits, making her think maybe life is all good again. He wines, dines and romances her, until she finds out he is a ghost (well, not really). Supposedly he died some years ago in a local scandal - which the local psychic had foretold. Rachel's mental state degrades and the locals think she is a loon. Then in true 1940's fashion, it becomes clear that all the whole thing was some plot by her soon-to-be ex and the friend that rented her the cottage, who is the ex's mistress now. They plotted - using a felon actor to play Angus, to make her death look like a suicide and thereby get all her money. Things really start to unravel here. The conspirators are picked off one by one... ostensibly by the "real" ghost of the lighthouse keeper... and the odd "messages" from her son are never fully explained.

Overall - great start out of the gate and plot thread. I was quite taken with the spooky feel of it until the odd turn to an old 1940's favorite theme noir - with the modern blood-lust at the end. Excellent locations, with beautiful scenery. Demi Moore kind of floats through the whole movie, and the only actor that really stood out was Hans Matheson- who played the dashing, sensitive, yet very dangerous Angus.

Distraught author seeks solace over son's death on remote Scottish seacoast. Things are not as they seem!

[adrid · 8/10 · 5 February 2006]

I enjoyed this movie a lot since I love horror/mystery/thriller/ghost stories. However, I would put this in the category of ghost story/love story. I think Demi was Demi - not great, but good. I thought it was interesting that they have her coupled with someone almost 20 years younger than she is, just like her real life. I do question some of the scenery. The village looks authentic Scottish with plaster and stone houses. However, the cottage, looks pure Appalacian mountain cabin - certainly not able to withstand hard weather in that part of the British Isles. Also, the lighthouse looks more USA than Scotland. The rest of the scenery looked genuine. I loved the musical score and the GREAT twist at the end. It really leaves you wondering about some things, and that's why I watched it again the next day. I do recommend this movie! I wish it had been based on a novel so I could clear up some questions I still have.

Pretty good

[jo-davies3 · 7/10 · 5 September 2006]

I have read other comments.. its got you talking hasn't it. I really enjoyed it.. I am one of those that gets great pleasure from spotting whats coming next.. this did have me going "oh right.." I enjoyed it, films with children in always upset me a bit, when there in danger or dead..lol but thats because i'm a mommy. I am a big fan of Demi's always have been shes just got something about her I love.. she gets you really liking and understanding her so easily... some people have been confused by the final scene, I felt a little like that in a few places.. obviously the lighthouse was furnished on Rachels visit before the birthday party, then the removal van swam to the island and emptied it in time for Rachel to get back and see it empty... also how they managed to skid across the sea so effortlessly and quick.. did you see the size of those waves?? but other than that.. it was fun to watch, and thats what films are for, Ay.

Stolen moments

[john-souray · 3/10 · 2 September 2006]

I didn't enjoy this, but perhaps I was in a bad mood. Right from the start, though, it got on my nerves. In the opening scenes, we discover a youngish professional couple at home, and it becomes obvious they work in the arts. Various everyday domestic events take place, while their young child plays outside with a talking Action Man figure near a body of water. And then, guess what? Discovering the drowned body of the child, a parent lets out a howl of grief......

What film am I watching? Don't Look Now, of course, with Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie. Except that isn't: it's Half Light, with Demi Moore, and some bloke off the telly.

But I'm sorry to have to tell the Director, Craig Rosenberg: Nicholas Roeg, you're not.

And so the film goes on, a bit of this and a bit of that, a bit of Les Diaboliques, a bit more of Don't Look Now (fey psychic women), a bit of the Shining (writer's block), a bit of the Wicker Man, and none of it quite as good as the original.

And I'm sorry, but while I'm being rude - the music. Composer: Brett Rosenberg. Wouldn't be a relative of yours, would he? All this terrible, oppressive, wistful plinky-plonky noodling on the piano. A hint about the music: if you want to create a supernatural effect with music (i.e. a tape recorder that switches itself on) then if you have to shut the soundtrack up specially so this can happen, you need to consider the possibility that you might be overdoing the soundtrack in the first place. Or worse, your audience might find find itself wondering whether the music is really supernatural at all, or just your relative at it again. Listen: some of the scariest moments in film take place in absolute silence.

And the plot doesn't stand up to scrutiny. I can't really say why without introducing spoilers, but in very general terms, it's one of those complex conspiracies that implausibly depend on everything happening just so. If you look at it all from the point of view of the villains, there's just too many things that could go wrong. I mean, what would have happened if she'd asked the policeman about the lighthouse on her first walk into the village? (That question will make sense if you see the film). Things don't go wrong, of course, or not until the authors want them too, because the authors haven't really thought it through from that point of view: their only intent is to attempt to deceive the audience. And we know it; you have failed to weave the magic spell that ever lets us forget it.

And I'm sorry, for me that opening rip-off, whether cynical plagiarism or just incompetent homage, meant I could never even get started.

More spooky than horror

[albertovalls · 26 November 2005]

Writer Rachel Carlson played by Demi Moore is left unable to write after the tragic death of her son.

In a hope to remove her writers block she moves to a remote island off Scotland. A local psychic startles her with a comment about her son and after befriending a local lighthouse keeper things begin to get creepy. Is she imagining strange things happening because of the isolation and the fact she has recently stopped taking medication for depression, or are they real? There is an unfortunate plot stopper 3/4 of the way in the film where a conversation opens out the plot to a point you may think why continue watching, but there is still a twist in the end.

R17 rating but no profanity or nudity (but did have short above the shoulders tasteful sex scene). I think the rating came from one violent scene in particular involving a child. A little bit of gore toward the end but not too graphic.

Demi Moore was great, but...

[McScared · 7/10 · 27 November 2019]

I liked the movie because I was in a very forgiving mood.

Demi Moore's performance was great, but I couldn't help but wonder if she called Bruce Willis after reading the script to say "I see dead people too".

The problems I have with the story is that it's one part murder mystery, two parts Harlequin Romance, and a little Ghost (yes, with Patrick Swazey). But, hey I rolled with it because I don't have anything against those genres.

What I did mind was all the things left unexplained. What was the foreign language everyone chattered in all about? Was that suppose to be some ancient Gaelic language they all turned to when they wanted to talk behind someone's back?

Why would the authorities be so quick not to suspect Rachel, the only living survivor who was just acting all crazy?

Why was the fake stabbing of her best friend even necessary?

Are we to assume the drowning of her son was no accident? Wouldn't that have gotten in the way of the inheritance?

Regardless, if you just roll with it, and like Demi Moore then you'll have a good time.

Surprisingly Good

[Mr_Saxon · 7/10 · 27 September 2007]

When her son drowns in an accident, novelist Rachel Carlson (Demi Moore) moves to a small Scottish town where she hopes to pick up the pieces of her life. Whilst she is there, she encounters and then falls in love with the local lighthouse keeper Angus (Hans Matheson). However, strange things begin to occur. Her dead son begins to send her messages from beyond the grave, the local medium starts to act strangely around her and then Rachel discovers something shocking about Angus....

I hadn't really known that much about this movie before I picked it up at my local rental store. I had initially believed it would be a mediocre horror movie but was pleased to discover that it was actually very good! It has a gentleness to it at the beginning and the scenery was beautiful to look at. As the supernatural elements increase, it becomes similar in tone to the movie "What Lies Beneath". Fridge magnets move by themselves, type writers spit out their own messages and dead people appear in dark doorways.

Although never really scary, the movie has some good ideas and an almost dreamlike quality to it. The central mystery is a good one and engages the viewer, keeping you interested in the story and what the outcome will be. The two main leads have a good chemistry allowing you to believe that they could fall in love and, about three quarters of the way into the movie, there is a nice twist which turns things on its head in a way that I didn't see coming.

Demi Moore offers a very good performance here. I've never been a big fan of hers but this is certainly one of her better movies. Henry Ian Cusick (who fans of the television show 'Lost' will recognise as Desmond) is also very good. I'd like to see him in more films.

In summary, I'd recommend this movie. You'll probably find yourself as surprised as I was.

Very well

[denis888 · 7/10 · 11 September 2006]

A very good film is this. I am a big Demi Moore fan and this time I was not certainly disappointed. The film starts like a sweet idyll, a famous writer and her family enjoy life, everything goes on well, then, suddenly, the main heroine's son gets drowned, she is devastated, goes far away to the sea coast, to live her grief alone, and then the strange, mystical events start to pile up. The sudden change from the warm, sunny colors of the first part of the movie, to the cold, bleak, mostly blue and gray one of the main part is so great, and I must state that apart from Demi's superb play, the best part is the cameraman's work. You have to watch it to the end, as the film doesn't give you time to change breath or even have a break. A real winner!

This movie has been summarized dozens of times, so no going there.

[virginia-97 · 6/10 · 30 January 2009]

What I wanted to add in the previous comments and wonderings is: 1. How did Angus/ Patrick know, WHEN to disappear exactly? He completely relied on the assumption that Rachel would start asking the villagers about her date and then find out that it must have been a "ghost" that she was waiting for. Patrick had very little time to move out from the lighthouse. May I also add that it is quite impossible to set the house as if nobody had been using it for 7 years... She went thorough the rooms, opened the fridge... 2. Rachel did not wonder at all, HOW her stereotype friend Sharon got to the island 3. Sharon and the husband... Brian, was it? They had it all planned out- why did they arrange the finale so that they would all come together, thus have no alibis and be right on the spot, where the "suicide" was supposed to take place? An extra comment for point 1: if you ask me, I would have been either embarrassed for being stood up to start asking villagers in the party, where is my new boyfriend OR I would have thought that something inevitable came up, thus the new boy being late. A lighthouse emergency or smth. A woman her age already knows the little trick of giving some space... 4. And why go through all that trouble, I wonder? Would it not have been so much easier to stage a simple suicide- a mother taking her life for not standing the pain of "leaving the gate open and not being there for her son"? Brian would have got all the money for himself.

BUT despite my criticism above...

I saw the movie last night from TV;I had just finished unpacking my stuff after being away from home for about a week and the couch felt really comfortable. I am giving this movie 6/10 for being something easy to watch, not too scary, not too complicated. And Angus was cute in both appearance and person.

Is "Cliche" too cliché to say?

[javathehutt · 4/10 · 27 January 2006]

I think that many people today equate a good movie with a movie that totally deceives you until the very end where the truth is revealed and you're left in awe of how clever the filmmakers were. I think we have Shyamalan to thank for this. And so now we have a bunch of people out there that come up with this great idea for a movie, but that's it. Yet people don't seem to care because they are just interested in being duped and surprised.

The difference is this: Shyamalan carefully crafted ALL aspects of his movies, not just the "big idea." What we see today -- in movies like this -- is an interesting "big idea", but other the other aspects of the film are not very well done. But when we judge a movie, we need to look at it for what it is, every single part of it, not just how much it surprises us.

Half-light has a beautiful soundtrack, and the scenery was spectacular as well. However, it just seemed like one cliché after another. All throughout the movie (but especially in the beginning) there was just one conversation after another that was obviously setup to establish ideas, setting, character, time lapse, etc. They spent all their time trying to creatively deceive us, and hardly any time creatively establishing these elements of the story. I also found the characters uninteresting and flat; not that the acting was bad (it wasn't great) but the characters were not developed. But that's just my two cents.

Nice thriller with a great twist!

[mario_c · 7/10 · 31 May 2007]

Half Light is a thriller that has a little bit of everything. It has suspense, mystery, a lot of twists (some of them were predictable, but some surprised me a bit!), drama, romance, supernatural, but especially great scenarios! I was amazed by the great landscapes of the Britain's North lands (I think it was filmed in Wales, but there are also some references to Scotland). It's really fantastic all this natural beauty, and it's also a great place to be alone…

When I decided to watch the movie I was expecting a ghost story, a "typical one", and for many minutes, it really seems like one; calm, monotonous, where the main character "see" things that other people can't see… but then something happened…it was a twist that didn't "ruin" the ghost story, but gave it a lot more of suspense and also something new/refreshing… I guess I did like the movie even more because of that twist… (which I won't spoil, of course!)

The soundtrack is also great. The main theme is very melodic and beautiful. It was said in the film it was inspired in a Welsh folk song. I don't know if it is or not, but I really appreciated its melody. It made me remind the main theme of the film "PIANO" (soundtrack by Michael Nyman) which had the same kind of tender and evolving melody…

To sum up, it's a nice film. If you're searching a movie with some great twists, watch this one!

Beyond atrocious

[jaap1 · 1/10 · 3 January 2006]

Ever horror cliché from the last fifty years (no Frankenstein or Dracula) badly put together. Demi Moore tops her performance in Striptease by minus 30 points. But she has amazingly got ten years younger through strenuous face-exercises. The story? Her son dies and start to haunt her. But off course it is all for her well being. If you like exceedingly long shots of the Scottish scenery then it is a must see, for about 5 minutes of scenery footage but it is played slow-mo so for all you lighthouse voyeurs, get your Kleenex ready.

For the rest it is trite and obvious in every sense of the word, no suspense, no thrills, not even the odd attempt at the shock value boo moment. I wouldn't know how to class the film, it is definitely not horror, not a drama, thriller or comedy. How Demi manages to find these stinkers I don't know.

What a pleasant surprise!

[tennrose · 10/10 · 24 January 2006]

I had never heard of this movie when my husband rented it, and was pleasantly surprised. Demi Moore was excellent, but i felt like Hans Matheson really was the top performer in this movie. His wonderful Scottish accent and sweet face made him extremely appealing, making you want to check out other movies he was in. The scenery was beautiful, and I absolutely fell in love with the light house. It was really neat to see wild horses on the light house island.

I loved the mysterious plot, but the movie left me a little sad. There were a lot of plot twists, and I watched the movie two days in a row to see if I could figure out a couple of things! This is a movie that I will probably buy to keep, so I can watch it from time to time.

A surprising treat

[markymark70 · 7/10 · 8 January 2009]

I caught this film on TV last night purely by chance. I'd never heard of it previously nor do I remember it ever making it to the cinema. As a result my expectations going in were low.

But I was pleasantly surprised.

Demi Moore is not a favourite of mine - her strange manly voice at odds with the rest of her make-up in such a manner that makes her rather off-putting for me. But she does very well here. This film is a throwback to the likes of the old Hitchcock movies of yesteryear - a good plot, some nice acting and a suitable twist/resolution at the end. Granted, I did figure out the ending some 20 minutes to go in the film (which is unusual for me) but that did not spoil the treat for me.

The camera work was good (a particularly lovely scene at the remote house involving a mirror) and a genuinely spooky, eerie feel all the way through draws in the viewer and carries him along on an edgy journey. This are some ropey CGI shots involving the lighthouse but I can forgive that easily and move on.

All in all, a solid outing for Ms. Moore (who I must say looks tremendous) and maybe a sign of things to come from a talented writer/director.

7/10.

Typically desperate British fare...

[mattsteel101 · 2/10 · 16 March 2006]

I just attended a test screening of this film and left after half an hour. It was boring, hammy, predictable, clunky and unoriginal.

All the shots are 'picture-postcard' shots of the Scottish coast, reminiscent of an appalling episode of ITV's Cold Feet where they go to Scotland for New Years Eve and "stay in a castle".

There's the hunky fisherman who runs the lighthouse. (and literally walks around holding a fishing rod and fish because... he's a fisherman.) It would not have surprised me to see a young lad carrying his lunch folded up in a red polka-dot handkerchief tied to a stick, whistling and tipping his hat as he went on his merry way. Demi could wave from her log cabin (that no one has lived in for years yet is immaculately tidy, warm and cosy.) Yes, she could wave whilst typing on her "cool" typewriter! What are those? Well, they're like laptops but really s**t and pointless nowadays as any serious writer would tell you. So Demi is an American, who has moved to London, is a writer and doesn't have a laptop? Chances of that? Hmm... er none?

The look of the film is somewhere between a Calvin Klein commercial shot on a beach, an Arena style poster of two young lovers huddled over coffee in a Volkswagen Beatle watching the rain, any cheesy 70s romance movie (I mean in this film, they are even riding on horseback at sunset down a beach within the first 20 minutes!) I could go on but let's change tack.

It is the Sixth Sense and I bet the director and everyone involved is sick to the back teeth of people saying that. Well, they're saying it for a reason, so listen. Yep, Sixth Sense meets Don't Look Now meets a few bits from American Wearwolf in London.

Where were the nasty, violent, Scottish smack-heads drunk on Buckfast? Ooh, everyone's so lovely and friendly in Scotland.. so wee... like bairns.

I'm going now. I won't even mention Demi's 'hard-nosed' friend who works for the "Daily Press" tabloid in London Taaaan. (nice art direction lads, real subtle) "Always looking for the edge that's me, ooh, the scoop, what's the big story? That's what we do in Landan Taaaan... luv a bit of gos" Someone stop me please.

I won't say don't see it. You won't have a choice. There's no way anyone would release this. It was awful.