Lie Still (2005)

After breaking-up with his girlfriend Veronica, the unemployed John Hare rents a cheap room in an old boarding house owned by the nice Martin Stone and the landlord tells him that the house... See full summary »

Director:

Sean Hogan

Writer:

Sean Hogan

Stars:

Tim Barlow, Robert Blythe, Susan Engel

Cast

Credited cast:
Tim Barlow	...	Man in Pub
Robert Blythe	...	Martin Stone
Susan Engel	...	Old Woman
Stuart Laing	...	John Hare
Granville Saxton	...	Dark Man
Nina Sosanya	...	Veronica
Tat Whalley	...	New Tenant

Storyline

After breaking-up with his girlfriend Veronica, the unemployed John Hare rents a cheap room in an old boarding house owned by the nice Martin Stone and the landlord tells him that the house is crowded by discreet persons. John does not see any other tenant but a bizarre old woman in the house and during the nights, he sees weird things on his television and hears violent knocks on his door. When John calls Veronica, she notes that he is near a breakdown after many sleepless nights and decides to stay with him. However, Veronica vanishes during the night, leading John to an ultimate decision.

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Taglines:

Welcome to the house

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Genres:

Horror

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and some violent content

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 September 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Haunting of #24

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Indobrit Pictures Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Old Woman: Nobody lives here.

User Reviews

Dies toward the end. Pun intended.

This film was decent, certainly better than expected. The performances were strong and the directing was good. The setting really gave this film a nice feel.

The pacing slowed toward the end however, just when I expected things to heat up. I was on the edge of my seat a couple of times, ready for a scare but the scare never really came. So while the film did a nice job of setting the tone and creating a frightening atmosphere, it never really punched it home.

As far as the story is concerned, it never evolved, nor did it offer anything that you weren't already expecting. Furthermore, the characters didn't have any real history. Basically, nothing was fleshed out here. Granted, I realize you don't often get that sort of thing in a horror film but I thought this film could have benefited greatly from it.

In terms of cinematography, it had sort of an amateur feel, no doubt a result of the low budget. However, this may have helped rather than hurt matters, as the film did not rely on special effects and gore to create suspense. Everything good in this film was earned. There was nothing cheap about it.

For example, the greatest moments in the film come without the use of either special effects or gore - the first meeting with the old woman and the happenings concerning the old photograph on the wall.

Overall, the film is worthwhile but you'll probably agree that it fizzles out in the end.