The only nail biting you will be doing in this movie will be if you get hungry and there's nothing to eat in the fridge. The acting is very weak and the story line is paper thin. There is very little suspense or thrills, and certainly nothing to make your heart race - or even go "bump" a little bit which makes for a very un-worthwhile film for anyone buying/hiring the video expecting those things. The wicca allusion was totally superfluous and the film's only "high" note for me was the appearance of Detective John Trevor (Jason Lewis)- but only because of his good looks. Overall, I was very disappointed with this movie and I wouldn't recommend it to other fans of the horror/thriller/supernatural genre.
36 Reviews
it could have been good
onotnow9 June 2008
It was a great premise for a movie, but the acting totally dumped it. The script was pretty bag, but the acting for most of the characters was horrible. The brother was probably the best actor in the bunch. If only they had taken the time to put out a good product this would have been a heck of a sleeper. Maybe someone with an actual budget or at least actors who give a rip can do better with this story. Needed more back story, so many questions it wasn't even funny. We should have been told somehow about the history of the house, and the families histories would have been nice too. The psychiatrist was good and the father could have been better, as i have seen him do better as an actor,but i think he was calling this one in cause he felt it was full of garbage too. This was so bad that my kids even said it was the worst they have ever seen and they pretty much watch anything.
Absolutely worthless and boring.
HumanoidOfFlesh30 October 2007
Emma has a strong aversion towards her family's new house,especially the attic.After moving in,she becomes miserable and reclusive. The rest of her family also seems unhappy and unsettled.The situation escalates one day when Emma is in the attic alone.All of a sudden someone who looks like Emma's identical twin sister attacks her viciously.Emma is convinced that someone or something is haunting her...First of all I can't believe that Mary Lambert,the director of very creepy "Pet Sematary" is responsible for this tedious piece of garbage."The Attic" is deadly dull and contains no suspense.There is one throat slashing and that's all when it comes to gore.The acting is pitiful,the script is predictable and it took me two days to actually finish this turd.Skip it.
Certainly not as bad as i thought
Sintalk14 March 2008
The attic is certainly not the movie of the year or a movie to be remembered but certainly a movie that didn't make me think i wasted my time.A pretty decent haunted house story with some bad acting but a good movie pace.I'm sure with a bigger budget it would have become a horror flick that could satisfy the fans of the genre.It keeps the same eerie feeling from beginning to end and the main character's descent into madness left me quite satisfied.It is a movie based on atmosphere more than pop up scares which was nice for a change.It certainly could have been more scary or more gory but for it to get a 3,5 rating...you guys surely haven't watched really bad horror movies.
Not the Worst Movie Ever
elliott782128 June 2012
Elizabeth Moss delivers a performance that while uneven manages to capture your attention. The pacing of the film at times is a bit slow thanks to director Mary Lambert, at the same time she manages to use some interesting elements adding to the mood of the film. Made on a shoe string budget all in all I thing everyone but attempted to make the best of it all sadly John Savage a veteran low budget actor just phoned it in if you catch this like I did for free online you won't be disappointed, yes there are some uneven and poor performances yet it tries to rise above itself and though not completely successful still manages to bring you along for the ride. Enjoy
Has Potential but Fails
claudio_carvalho21 March 2009
After moving to an old house with her family, Emma Callan (Elisabeth Moss) is agoraphobic and haunted by a doppelganger that lives in the attic. Emma stops going to college and has friction with her father Graham (John Savage). When Emma is attacked by the ghost in the attic, she is sent to therapy with Dr. Perry (Thomas Jay Ryan) by her mother Kim (Catherine Mary Stewart); only Detective John Trevor (Jason Lewis) believes on her statement and he helps Emma to investigate her doppelganger. When her slow brother Frankie Callan (Tom Malloy) is slashed on the throat, Trevor gives a gun to Emma for her self-protection.
"The Attic" from the cult-director Mary Lambert is that type of horror movie that has potential but unfortunately fails. The main reason is the terrible development of the characters, and the viewer sees the series of weird events without knowing Emma, Graham, Frankie or Kim or their relationship, disclosed only in the end. The acting of important characters is very weak and does not help to save or at least improve the story. My vote is five.
Title (Brazil): "O Sotão" ("The Attic")
"The Attic" from the cult-director Mary Lambert is that type of horror movie that has potential but unfortunately fails. The main reason is the terrible development of the characters, and the viewer sees the series of weird events without knowing Emma, Graham, Frankie or Kim or their relationship, disclosed only in the end. The acting of important characters is very weak and does not help to save or at least improve the story. My vote is five.
Title (Brazil): "O Sotão" ("The Attic")
The Confusion
Carrigon9 January 2008
Warning: Spoilers
SPOILERS in post, pretty much everything that happens in this movie! What a mess. I don't even know where to start with this one. The plot is a weird mess. For most of the movie, you think the house is haunted. At first, we're led to believe that there was a twin sister who was murdered by the father because she would have grown up with retardation, her brain wasn't formed right. So, we're all lead to believe that her ghost is haunting the place and Emma is being terrorized by her sister.
There are Wiccan symbols that show up in the attic, but that seems to be a red herring as it is never really used in the story at all.
Emma begins an affair with a guy who says he's a detective. He seems to be trying to help her.
After Emma's brother is murdered, oddly, she isn't arrested, even though everyone seems to think she did it.
The detective gives her a gun to protect herself after he actually sees her twin fighting with her. But what's messed up here is that the twin bleeds when hit. Ghosts don't bleed. But that goes nowhere in this film, as well. The detective seems to go after the twin when she jumps out the window.
Emma witnesses her parents slipping drugs into her drink and shoots both of them dead.
When the cops arrive, they tell Emma that there never was a twin sister. They show her photos she had taken around the house that show the rooms were empty. Not only was there no ghost, but the detective doesn't show up in the pics.
Emma shoots herself dead.
But the movie doesn't end there. The man who claimed to be a detective shows up for a new family that is buying the house. Only this time, he's pretending to be a real estate agent. That makes zero sense. There are a million plot holes left unfilled. Was there a sister? What happened to Beth's "ghost"? Who is this detective/real estate guy really? What was the meaning of the Wiccan symbols in the attic? Why bother to have them in the movie at all? It's a mess of a plot with no answers and a waste of an hour and twenty minutes that feels like a hundred eternities. It's a bad movie with no redeeming qualities. I wish I could get the time back that I spent watching it.
There are Wiccan symbols that show up in the attic, but that seems to be a red herring as it is never really used in the story at all.
Emma begins an affair with a guy who says he's a detective. He seems to be trying to help her.
After Emma's brother is murdered, oddly, she isn't arrested, even though everyone seems to think she did it.
The detective gives her a gun to protect herself after he actually sees her twin fighting with her. But what's messed up here is that the twin bleeds when hit. Ghosts don't bleed. But that goes nowhere in this film, as well. The detective seems to go after the twin when she jumps out the window.
Emma witnesses her parents slipping drugs into her drink and shoots both of them dead.
When the cops arrive, they tell Emma that there never was a twin sister. They show her photos she had taken around the house that show the rooms were empty. Not only was there no ghost, but the detective doesn't show up in the pics.
Emma shoots herself dead.
But the movie doesn't end there. The man who claimed to be a detective shows up for a new family that is buying the house. Only this time, he's pretending to be a real estate agent. That makes zero sense. There are a million plot holes left unfilled. Was there a sister? What happened to Beth's "ghost"? Who is this detective/real estate guy really? What was the meaning of the Wiccan symbols in the attic? Why bother to have them in the movie at all? It's a mess of a plot with no answers and a waste of an hour and twenty minutes that feels like a hundred eternities. It's a bad movie with no redeeming qualities. I wish I could get the time back that I spent watching it.
The script and the story was lazy and lousy and the acting was just pure horrible!
actormichaelo25 July 2008
The basic plot for the story is that a teenage girl keep's seeing a different girl who looks exactly like her in the mirror, she goes crazy and everyone think's she's lieing. That is the most unoriginal story I have ever heard. Okay, I'll be fair, it's not the worst movie ever, but..the writing was so lousy and lazy it was unbelievable. The acting was just terrible and Elizabeth Moss looked just stupid she was so bad. If you want to see a good horror movie, don't watch this. This movie disappointed me so much. The shame is, is that, yeah, the story is unoriginal and plain but, if the writers had developed more on the story and planned a little bit more then maybe I would of given the movie a 4 or 5 out of 10. If the writers had planned the characters and really thought out the movie rather than just writing down whatever popped into there head, the movie might of worked a little bit more than it did.
I'm rating this two, as the camera work and direction was, err..okay, for the budget they were on ($7000).
PS - About half an hour into the movie, her older brother who has the mind of a child, mentions that his sister keeps a diary. Now, this is when you start thinking, hmm...maybe the story and the characters will unfold within this diary and think it's going to get a bit more interesting, but the diary is never mentioned or shown again in the whole movie!!! Also, As for the scene were the girl makes a move on her own father just puzzled me! In fact, the only thing that actually unfolds the characters throughout the movie is the fact her mother and father turn out to be raging lunatics who use witchcraft.
Bad, Very bad movie! 2/10.
I'm rating this two, as the camera work and direction was, err..okay, for the budget they were on ($7000).
PS - About half an hour into the movie, her older brother who has the mind of a child, mentions that his sister keeps a diary. Now, this is when you start thinking, hmm...maybe the story and the characters will unfold within this diary and think it's going to get a bit more interesting, but the diary is never mentioned or shown again in the whole movie!!! Also, As for the scene were the girl makes a move on her own father just puzzled me! In fact, the only thing that actually unfolds the characters throughout the movie is the fact her mother and father turn out to be raging lunatics who use witchcraft.
Bad, Very bad movie! 2/10.
I'll give you the heads up before give you the spoiler so read this post
mrmovie-3003311 September 2016
Warning: Spoilers
You can read most of this before the spoiler I'll tell you when The spoiler is coming because it seems people didn't get the ending But before that This movie wasn't as bad as the drama queens make out It was okay but it was predictable Why it did its best to trick you guessed it from the beginning Which was disappointing but overall it wasn't bad it wasn't great but it wasn't bad I've seen worse now as for the story a family moves into a new house With a deadly history Emma (Moss) has a strong aversion towards her family's new house, especially the attic. After moving in, she becomes miserable and reclusive. The rest of her family also start to Act strange and unhappy The situation escalates one day when Emma is in the attic alone. All of a sudden someone who looks exactly like Emma attacks her viciously. Emma sets out to find out what's happening in the house and she believes the Attic Holds the key .........................................Okay here comes the spoiler ............................................... Okay here is the spoiler don't read past here if you don't want to know the ending And the meaning here we go........................................
Emma is convinced that someone or something is haunting her, and she refuses to leave her house until she can piece the puzzle together, with the assistance of John Trevor (Lewis), a sympathetic detective. Eventually, Emma suspects her parents of hiding skeletons in the closet from the family's past and practicing magical rituals using symbols Wicca seemingly stole from satanism. As the clues pile up, she discovers that she once had a sister named Beth, who died twelve days after Emma was born. Emma realizes that this identical apparition may actually be Beth returning to life. To get revenge for her death
Emma witnesses Beth kill her brother, and the police suspect it was really Emma. John Trevor comes to the rescue when Beth is trying to strangle Emma to death and leaves her with a gun. Convinced her parents got rid of her sister due to her being restarted She becomes convinced her parents are drugging her after coming down stairs And seeing her parents placing something in her drink She suspects that they are trying to kill her and murders both her parents. With the gun at point blank range .... When the police arrive, she tells the cops what happened the cops Don't believe her John Trevor enters dressed as a paramedic She tells John yo tell the cops what he knows and saw He says he doesn't know what she's talking about and claims he's just a paramedic Emma threatens "John Trevor", with the gun he gave her. As she points the gun at Trevor, she is really pointing the gun at herself, Trevor isn't really there you see it's the house Making her see Trevor and she's pointing the gun at her head but the house has her thinking its a John Trevor and when she pulls the trigger, she kills herself.
The police later discuss the incident, and Emma's former psychologist explains that Beth and Trevor were only in her mind. Another officer mentions that the previous owner of the house mysteriously died. The psychologist says that houses do not kill people, but in this case it did. The film ends as new family looks to buy the house. As a young girl about Emma's age explores the attic, "John Trevor", now a real estate agent called Ron, appears behind her and says they will be seeing a lot of each other.
What's it mean simple Emma wasn't crazy the house was possessed And the house was making Emma crazy by seeing John Trevor Hence the girl at the start of the movie that was a victim And the girl at the end was a new victim the house does the same thing over and over again with different female victims leading them all to insanity and suicide
The only thing I wasn't a hundred percent on was if the house or Emma killed her brother That was the only thing I couldn't workout I thought it was Emma anyway there you go
Emma is convinced that someone or something is haunting her, and she refuses to leave her house until she can piece the puzzle together, with the assistance of John Trevor (Lewis), a sympathetic detective. Eventually, Emma suspects her parents of hiding skeletons in the closet from the family's past and practicing magical rituals using symbols Wicca seemingly stole from satanism. As the clues pile up, she discovers that she once had a sister named Beth, who died twelve days after Emma was born. Emma realizes that this identical apparition may actually be Beth returning to life. To get revenge for her death
Emma witnesses Beth kill her brother, and the police suspect it was really Emma. John Trevor comes to the rescue when Beth is trying to strangle Emma to death and leaves her with a gun. Convinced her parents got rid of her sister due to her being restarted She becomes convinced her parents are drugging her after coming down stairs And seeing her parents placing something in her drink She suspects that they are trying to kill her and murders both her parents. With the gun at point blank range .... When the police arrive, she tells the cops what happened the cops Don't believe her John Trevor enters dressed as a paramedic She tells John yo tell the cops what he knows and saw He says he doesn't know what she's talking about and claims he's just a paramedic Emma threatens "John Trevor", with the gun he gave her. As she points the gun at Trevor, she is really pointing the gun at herself, Trevor isn't really there you see it's the house Making her see Trevor and she's pointing the gun at her head but the house has her thinking its a John Trevor and when she pulls the trigger, she kills herself.
The police later discuss the incident, and Emma's former psychologist explains that Beth and Trevor were only in her mind. Another officer mentions that the previous owner of the house mysteriously died. The psychologist says that houses do not kill people, but in this case it did. The film ends as new family looks to buy the house. As a young girl about Emma's age explores the attic, "John Trevor", now a real estate agent called Ron, appears behind her and says they will be seeing a lot of each other.
What's it mean simple Emma wasn't crazy the house was possessed And the house was making Emma crazy by seeing John Trevor Hence the girl at the start of the movie that was a victim And the girl at the end was a new victim the house does the same thing over and over again with different female victims leading them all to insanity and suicide
The only thing I wasn't a hundred percent on was if the house or Emma killed her brother That was the only thing I couldn't workout I thought it was Emma anyway there you go
I'd rather be locked in a room watching 'The Pumpkin Carver'...
brooklyn10150530 March 2008
I'd rather be locked in a room watching 'The Pumpkin Carver' for a year straight then to have to subject myself to this bullshit. I've never seen such horrible acting in my 25 years of existence and I pray that people read this before ever watching this "movie". I would rather gauge my eyes out with my toes...I needed to keep watching it to see what happens and I wish I could take back the 80 minutes of my life. All the crew that were involved in making this movie should be forced to be locked in a room for life repeating the movie over and over and be tortured. I've already wasted enough time in writing this blog about this monstrosity, but I needed to warn people!! 0 OUT OF 10.....HORRIBLE!
Not too bad a movie
Psychovr12 April 2008
OK before I watched this I looked at some reviews and I didn't find a lot of good ones. I watched and well it wasn't scary per say. There were some points but it was more like a type of movie that kept me guessing and interested. I thought I had it figured out about 3/4 way thru the movie and BOOM!! another twist. And blew my theory out of the water. I liked it pretty much though. Not bad at all. Im not going to give any spoilers but it will keep you guessing and interested to see what happens next. I gave it a rating of 8 out of 10 stars. I liked it a lot. If you like movies that keep ya guessing until the very end and shock's ya. I would recommend this title to see! Enjoy!! : )
Most of the film is psychological thriller with horrible outcomes.
suite9231 August 2013
Warning: Spoilers
Cinematography: 8/10 Mostly well-lit and in good focus, with reasonable framing. Occasionally, a vignette filter was used, which I could have done without.
Sound: 8/10, good but not the best. In several passages the spoken word seemed hollow.
Acting: 6/10 John Savage gave the performance I expected. I'd seen Elisabeth Moss in Mad Men and Top of the Lake, and this performance was not nearly as good. Elisabeth Moss is the center of the piece, so the whole movie seemed awkward. Tom Malloy gave a competent performance as the brain damaged brother.
Screenplay: 6/10 Emma's refusals to cooperate with the police resulted in no consequences. Horror films, and also psychological thrillers, are all about consequences, so this struck me as mighty unlikely. That her family would allow her self-destructive behavior to continue was hard to believe.
Sound: 8/10, good but not the best. In several passages the spoken word seemed hollow.
Acting: 6/10 John Savage gave the performance I expected. I'd seen Elisabeth Moss in Mad Men and Top of the Lake, and this performance was not nearly as good. Elisabeth Moss is the center of the piece, so the whole movie seemed awkward. Tom Malloy gave a competent performance as the brain damaged brother.
Screenplay: 6/10 Emma's refusals to cooperate with the police resulted in no consequences. Horror films, and also psychological thrillers, are all about consequences, so this struck me as mighty unlikely. That her family would allow her self-destructive behavior to continue was hard to believe.
This Could Have Been Better
bjon14522 January 2017
The film held my interest, I'll admit, but right from the beginning, you were left hanging as to what was happening. The so called psychosis of the main character was virtually unexplained from the beginning, the paramedic "ally" appeared all too conveniently and the Wiccan symbols were explained away like they had nothing to do with the plot.
What I did like, however, was that it wasn't the typical slasher film. I also enjoyed the complex nature of the circumstances-if they'd presented them better! I'd seriously consider a remake of this, tweaked, of course.
It's too bad the budget wasn't adequate.
What I did like, however, was that it wasn't the typical slasher film. I also enjoyed the complex nature of the circumstances-if they'd presented them better! I'd seriously consider a remake of this, tweaked, of course.
It's too bad the budget wasn't adequate.
This was painful
jessicabuffalo4 May 2008
Warning: Spoilers
Now, the reason I gave it a "2" instead of "1" is because I felt that the story could actually have potential had it been in the right hands, and I love ghost movies. The final product (ie: "The Attic") was a catastrophe. I think that there were a couple of ways they could have gone with but they just threw them all together with-out filling in the gaps. I mean, if her sister was supposedly allowed to die 12 days after birth, why would her ghost be in her early 20's? If Mr. Trevor was a ghost, why did everyone else see him? And when "Beth" supposedly gets into a cat fight with Emma, how did she say "OW" and bleed? Ghosts can't bleed and they can't hurt people physically. They usually cause the person to go crazy and hurt themselves. I could go on but I think other people have touched on everything. Save yourself the trouble. I can't believe I watched it to the end, myself.
Jessica from Buffalo, NY
Jessica from Buffalo, NY
Terrible in the Worst Way Possible
avarusrex1 May 2012
I don't want to give a bad review based on my sole experience, but I will. After all, this review is warranted and in no way, shape or form is it based on movies with similar premises...but it is.
I like bad movies; I really do. I dig really bad movies such as Troll 2, Silent Night Deadly Night 2, etc. These movies, at least to me, attempt something and in some way, it always comes out bad in the best way possible. This movie, The Attic, starring Elisabeth Moss, is terrible in the worst way.
It starts off interesting enough with a girl in the bathtub, which is always a good sign of a horror flick. However, it rushes things right afterward until you're wondering what happened and why.
Is the movie bad because of poor character development? Yes. Is the movie bad because of very poor acting? Yes. Is the movie bad because it's the same storyline that's been done time and time again? Yes.
I could almost look passed the bad acting because sometimes that actually makes a memorable movie. However, in this case, The Attic falls short to the point you could care less about the characters, and you really want to find the original script and tear it up before anyone, such as Lambert, decides to direct it.
I gave it 1 star only because I couldn't give it a 0.
I like bad movies; I really do. I dig really bad movies such as Troll 2, Silent Night Deadly Night 2, etc. These movies, at least to me, attempt something and in some way, it always comes out bad in the best way possible. This movie, The Attic, starring Elisabeth Moss, is terrible in the worst way.
It starts off interesting enough with a girl in the bathtub, which is always a good sign of a horror flick. However, it rushes things right afterward until you're wondering what happened and why.
Is the movie bad because of poor character development? Yes. Is the movie bad because of very poor acting? Yes. Is the movie bad because it's the same storyline that's been done time and time again? Yes.
I could almost look passed the bad acting because sometimes that actually makes a memorable movie. However, in this case, The Attic falls short to the point you could care less about the characters, and you really want to find the original script and tear it up before anyone, such as Lambert, decides to direct it.
I gave it 1 star only because I couldn't give it a 0.
Wow... Its LOL Bad...Amazingly Bad
lindsaytomcat25 May 2012
Warning: Spoilers
OK, I've seen a lot of BAD horror movies that other people give bad reviews that I think are under rated by people, but this movie is REALLY that awful. I gave it a shot only because I recognized the lead chick from Mad Men, which I don't watch myself but know is pretty popular. This is the first bad movie that actually made me laugh out loud in its badness. About ten minutes in there's a stunt that literally looks like someone with a camcorder could do better...This is worse than film students beginning movies, and this was done by (supposedly) reputable actors and directors. I won't go into all the reasons its bad because the others have already hit the nail on the head.
Unbelievable acting, horrible editing, a storyline that doesn't make sense, etc.
One good thing is you can see the lead actress (who eventually stars in Mad Men, as I mentioned above) start to get her acting chops as the movie progresses. It's sort of fascinating to watch, for that reason alone. There's one diatribe where she's going off on her shrink that starts off inauthentic and fake and literally becomes more believable and well acted as she keeps going. By the end of the scene she verbally and physically looks transformed - into the better actress she has later become. Of course by the next few scenes its back to same ol same ol.
It's also worth noting in the entire movie I only saw one scene transition / passage of time that made sense, and that was right after (SPOILER!!) the only real death in the movie takes place. (The brother) Every other scene just jumped from one to the next (day to night, night to day, several days later, etc) without any semblance of editing or sense. It's the type of thing you may not even notice in a movie until its NOT done correctly or at all in a movie like this one.
Unbelievable acting, horrible editing, a storyline that doesn't make sense, etc.
One good thing is you can see the lead actress (who eventually stars in Mad Men, as I mentioned above) start to get her acting chops as the movie progresses. It's sort of fascinating to watch, for that reason alone. There's one diatribe where she's going off on her shrink that starts off inauthentic and fake and literally becomes more believable and well acted as she keeps going. By the end of the scene she verbally and physically looks transformed - into the better actress she has later become. Of course by the next few scenes its back to same ol same ol.
It's also worth noting in the entire movie I only saw one scene transition / passage of time that made sense, and that was right after (SPOILER!!) the only real death in the movie takes place. (The brother) Every other scene just jumped from one to the next (day to night, night to day, several days later, etc) without any semblance of editing or sense. It's the type of thing you may not even notice in a movie until its NOT done correctly or at all in a movie like this one.
This film SUCKS!
cpb19215 January 2008
I just lost over an hour of my life watching this less-than-mediocre movie and will never get that time back! I should sew somebody! Its a challenge to watch, I forced myself to watch it all in the hope it would get better... it didn't! The best part of the film and the only redeeming factor was the end credits. The acting, along with everything else about this film, was completely shameful! It's not scary, gory, interesting or worth any of anybody's time. Sometimes when films are that bad they're kinda funny, but this doesn't even achieve that! I love 'horror' films but this was just a pathetic attempt and should be avoided at all costs. My advice is Don't bother watching it.
first few minutes... that's it
Hexcalibur7 April 2011
The absolutely only redeeming thing about this film is how beautiful Alexandra Daddario looks in the first few minutes. That's it. (Remember, this is just my opinion)
The absolutely only redeeming thing about this film is how beautiful Alexandra Daddario looks in the first few minutes. That's it. (Remember, this is just my opinion)
The absolutely only redeeming thing about this film is how beautiful Alexandra Daddario looks in the first few minutes. That's it. (Remember, this is just my opinion)
This should complete my required ten lines of text. LOL
The absolutely only redeeming thing about this film is how beautiful Alexandra Daddario looks in the first few minutes. That's it. (Remember, this is just my opinion)
The absolutely only redeeming thing about this film is how beautiful Alexandra Daddario looks in the first few minutes. That's it. (Remember, this is just my opinion)
This should complete my required ten lines of text. LOL
Girl sees keeps seeing reflections of herself and goes crazy.
pbothra16 March 2008
A VERY bad movie with a broken plot, bad actors, and clearly a terrible director/producer. Believe it or not, I actually sat through the entire movie (I should not even call it a movie - does not even deserve that title) just to see how bad it can possibly get and trust me, it got pretty bad. The movie actually got worst and worst as the movie progressed. I was actually laughing by the end of the movie just watching the unbearable and inexplicable chain of events. You can tell its a very low-budget film from the onset. They could have maybe worked something out of the story, if the movie actually had actors or a true director. They were all amateurs and seemed as if they were acting for the first time ever. This was easily the worst movie I have ever seen, and I've some pretty bad movies. It should be listed top 10 on IMDb's bottom 250. Please save yourself the anguish and the two hours.
This Movie Is Confusing! So Many Loopholes!
slayer_sly_00716 March 2008
Warning: Spoilers
well if you haven't watched the movie then i suggest you shouldn't have to. but if you wanna know how bad the movie's plot is,then go ahead, "amuse" yourself and compare it with other horrendous films that you have watched. you see, the movie makes us presume the house was haunted, and then they completely made a u-turn towards the end and made it appear that the girl was crazy. and then they added the "wicca" angle that is not at all related to the plot. if the girl was really crazy, how come before they moved into the house,there was another girl that was killed under the same circumstances? now that couldn't be the girl's "twin", right? and now the most confusing part of all... who or what is the guy detective/nurse/real estate agent? is he a real person? with multiple identities? or a ghost that has something to do with victimizing every young female in the household? (towards the end of the movie you can see him talking to his next victim) that really leaves the viewers (this one at least) thinking about it after the credits have stopped rolling. so overall, the film BADLY needs to be rewritten! they should have hired experienced writers, not just some newbie! coz the actor that played frankie is also the one that wrote the script for the movie. my verdict? a movie that COULD have potential if it was done by a professional scriptwriter. a below average movie.
Found the directing profoundly experimental...
iv-318 January 2008
Well this board is harsh... I think this movie is being overlooked by more straight genre fans...
I just saw the movie and enjoyed it.
Mary Lambert's work is artful. I found the directing profoundly experimental, many dark figures and smart frames contributed to an thick atmosphere.
It was a very internal tale, a trip into the mind and back out.
Wanted more back story but I did enjoy this. No masterpiece but a solid and smart movie different from most.
well my thoughts.
I just saw the movie and enjoyed it.
Mary Lambert's work is artful. I found the directing profoundly experimental, many dark figures and smart frames contributed to an thick atmosphere.
It was a very internal tale, a trip into the mind and back out.
Wanted more back story but I did enjoy this. No masterpiece but a solid and smart movie different from most.
well my thoughts.
The Attic (2008)
suspiria1013 March 2009
Rating: 3 out of5
Genre: Horror , Haunted House, Possession
Director: Mary Lambert
Stars: Elisabeth Moss, Jason Lewis, Tom Malloy, John Savage, Catherine Mary Stewart, Thomas Jay Ryan, Alexandra Daddario, Gil Deeble, Nick Gregory, Sara Maraffino
Synopsis: Emma (Elisabeth Moss) moves into a nice rural home with her parents. Soon after settling down she investigates the attic to find strange Wiccan symbols painted about and a large mirror that reflects seemingly an evil, distorted version of herself. Before long she is so terrified about the things she sees that she won't go outside and the only person who believes her is a detective that takes pity on her.
Thoughts: Director Mary Lambert (no stranger to horror with "Pet Sematary" and "American Psycho" to her credit) does a good job of sprucing up this familiarly constructed script with a creepy atmosphere that makes the most of the films lone location. The cast does a fine job crazy-ing up the screen.
In Conclusion: "The Attic" is a solid but unspectacular film that makes due with what it has.
Genre: Horror , Haunted House, Possession
Director: Mary Lambert
Stars: Elisabeth Moss, Jason Lewis, Tom Malloy, John Savage, Catherine Mary Stewart, Thomas Jay Ryan, Alexandra Daddario, Gil Deeble, Nick Gregory, Sara Maraffino
Synopsis: Emma (Elisabeth Moss) moves into a nice rural home with her parents. Soon after settling down she investigates the attic to find strange Wiccan symbols painted about and a large mirror that reflects seemingly an evil, distorted version of herself. Before long she is so terrified about the things she sees that she won't go outside and the only person who believes her is a detective that takes pity on her.
Thoughts: Director Mary Lambert (no stranger to horror with "Pet Sematary" and "American Psycho" to her credit) does a good job of sprucing up this familiarly constructed script with a creepy atmosphere that makes the most of the films lone location. The cast does a fine job crazy-ing up the screen.
In Conclusion: "The Attic" is a solid but unspectacular film that makes due with what it has.
Completely undeveloped plot, not worth watching
supsvcmi27 October 2017
I'd give this a zero out of 10 vote if I could. Elisabeth Moss is a good actress, but this was a horrible vehicle for her early talents. The story line is never fleshed out or developed in any way - it's almost as though the creators of this film found bits and pieces of other stories on the cutting-room floor and thought, "Oh, I'll just toss this in there too!" - that's how disjointed and undeveloped this whole story is. It never makes sense.
Don't bother unless you want to laugh all the way through at how ridiculous it is.
Don't bother unless you want to laugh all the way through at how ridiculous it is.
Terrible Story Structure and No Continuity
KelRen259 April 2012
If you have high expectations for a low-budget horror film, then you're pretty ignorant. But many of the people posting that "it's the worst movie I've ever seen" or "I'd rather (fill-in-the- blank) than watch this movie" probably haven't seen REALLY bad horror movies (Cheerleader Massacre and Troll 2 come to mind). That being said, this movie certainly ISN'T good. The story is all over the place. I've seen better story structure and continuity in a seventh-grader's English paper. Elizabeth Moss actually does a good job for what she has to work with. The actor who plays her brother was decent as well. All the other actors were terrible. My main beef with this movie was the story itself meandering around and not making any sense. 2 out 10.
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