Deadline (I) (2009)

A screenwriter who travels to an abandoned house to finish a script on time, but a series of strange events lead her to a psychological breakdown.

Director:

Sean McConville

Writer:

Sean McConville

Stars:

Brittany Murphy, Thora Birch, Tammy Blanchard

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Brittany Murphy	...	Alice
Thora Birch	...	Lucy
Tammy Blanchard	...	Rebecca
Marc Blucas	...	David
Claudia Troll	...	David's Mother
Michael Piscitelli	...	Ben's Voice (voice)

Storyline

Alice, 32, a writer recovering from a psychological breakdown retreats to a remote Victorian house to convalesce and focus on finishing her screenplay in time for a fast approaching deadline. Shortly after her arrival, mysterious noises and strange happenings cause her imagination to run wild, sending her on a twisting and terrifying pursuit to find out what is behind the endless mind games. Frightened but intrigued, Alice gathers the courage to go down into the cold, dingy attic where she finds a shoe box filled with mini-dv tapes. The terrifying secret that lies within the tapes will unravel Alice's dark past.

---

Plot Keywords:

writer | bathtub | female writer | mental breakdown | camera focus on female butt | 

---

Taglines:

Focus your fear.

---

Genres:

Drama | Thriller | Horror

---

Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

MySpace

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 January 2010 (Mexico)

Also Known As:

Apariciones extrañas

Filming Locations:

Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,800,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

KRU Studios, Enso Entertainment, Films In Motion

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min 89 min (European Film Market)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

User Reviews

One of the dullest ghost movies I've seen.

The actors do at least try hard with this dull-as-dishwater ghost story with a by-the-numbers script and uninspired directing, but alas it's not enough.

The film doesn't really have flaws significant enough to point out, but nor does it have anything really positive going for it either. There's virtually no attempt to weave anything interesting into the work. Every camera angle, movement, and even the set-design of the house are as predictable as the plot and dialogue. The scares are mild to non existent, the "mystery" is telegraphed so far in advance you can practically write the conclusion in an sealed envelope at the outset and pretend you did a magic trick to your friends. By the time the end credits roll you're already forgetting the movie.

Writer/director Sean McConville seems to be far out of his depth even creating a simple four-character ghost story. According to IMDb listings, this may be his first attempt at a movie... in which case we could probably cut him a little slack, but holy-hell he needs to try harder with his next attempt.