SecretsintheWalls

Secrets in the Walls (2010)

Holy crap I didn't realize this until I started my review but this movie was made for the Lifetime network… I’m reviewing a Lifetime movie for Gutmunchers. Damn have I run out of things to watch?

Actually I haven’t. This is one that I was sent for review and since it is a ghost story I was all over it. The lovely Jeri Ryan plays a single mother with two girls. Recently divorced she gets a new job and a new house. The job is good, but the house is haunted. Initially she doesn’t believe what her younger daughter, who is sensitive to this sort of thing, is telling her. Though after a while she can’t ignore the strange things that are happening and becomes a believer. She has to figure out why the house is haunted and how to free the spirit. Though it might be that the ghost wants more then just to be free.

This is a solid ghost story. All the elements are there with the family moving into a new house and all the change that comes from it. For most people getting used to a new place is already sort of scary and that sets the tone for a movie like Secrets in the Walls. Other staples of the haunted house genre are here as well. There are some well-done jump scares, a character that no one believes is seeing ghosts, a body hidden in the house, and a nifty twist. Though I saw the twist coming it was still satisfying. I only wish that the filmmakers had left well enough alone and not left us with an ending that is annoying and utterly predictable (though not in the good familiar way that the story plays out).

The biggest strength of Secrets in the Walls is the casting of Jeri Ryan. She is completely believable as the mom who goes rom skeptic to believer. The rest of the cast is pretty good, especially the young ladies who play the daughters. But Ryan is by far the highlight of this one. I wish that she had more chances to show off the acting chops she has on display here.

Time to get to the behind the scenes stuff. The movie has decent production values. The locations are good and the camera work/lighting are all what you would expect from a professional studio. Most of the jump scares work and are shot perfectly. Though I’ve seen the mirror thing done to death, so that ruined a couple of them for me. Because this was for basic cable there isn’t any gore beyond a dead body found in the cellar. Then again most ghost movies aren’t really gory to begin with so that is okay.

Again this movie isn’t breaking new ground and follows the familiar pattern that fans are used to from a flick like this. The only issue that I have with this is that because it isn’t that memorable I doubt that I ‘ll watch it again. There are so many better entries in the genre that I could revisit instead. So maybe this one is a rental rather then a purchase.

2 ½ out of 4

reviewed by John Shatzer