Christine Brown has
everything going for her by having a full
time job at a bank who hopes to be an
assistant manager, a great house with an
adorable kitten to keep her company as
well as a sympathetic and caring
boyfriend named Clay Dalton (Justin Long)
who loves her even if his family
disapproves of her.
Christine's boss Mr.
Jacks (David Paymer) pressures her to
convince him that she can do the job
being an assistant manager to make tough
decisions when she needs to so one day an
elderly gypsy lady named Mrs. Ganush
(Lorna Raver) asks for a
third extension on her mortgage because
she is struggling with economic problems
due to an illness. To prove herself to
Mr. Jacks, Christine, against her better
judgment, denies Mrs. Ganush the
extension. In desperation, Mrs. Ganush
prostrates herself before Christine,
begging and kissing the hem of her skirt.
Christine panics and shoves the woman
away, shaming her in public. As security
guards escort Mrs. Ganush out, Mr. Jacks
compliments Christine on how she handled
the situation and implies that if she can
close another big loan, the assistant
manager position will be hers.
It seemed that Mrs.
Ganush hid in the backseat of Christine's
car and attacks her in a struggle as Mrs.
Ganush tears a button from Christine's
coat and uses it to place a curse on her.
Then she disappears.
Christine has a long talk with Clay on
what happened at a coffee shop and then
later on they spot a fortune telling shop
and insists going there as the teller
named Rham Jas (Dileep Rao) tells Christine
that she has a dark spirit upon her.
Christine is tormented
in her home with supernatural forces
which appears as the silhouette of a
goat's head. The spirit breaks some
windows, cuts the power, and throws
Christine across the room, causing minor
injuries. Clay assumes that Mrs. Ganush
followed them and attacked Christine
again. She continues to be tormented by
nightmares of Mrs. Ganush attacking her
and this force won't leave her alone and
tried to talk to Mrs. Ganush about the
curse she left on her only to find out
that she died.
So she goes to the aid of Rham and he
tells her there's a demon called the
Lamia that is tormenting her and in order
to perform an exorcism she has to come up
10,000 dollars.
She also finds out she's not getting the
job she wanted at her bank so Christine
sells all her valueable things and goes
to the aid of a lady named Shaun San Dena
(Adriana Barraza) who tells her the
history on what happened to her son in
1969 when they tried to perfom one for
him which backfired. They go on with the
ceremony only to have Shaun killed by
this demon and it's up to Christine to
stop this evil force herself which is to
dig up Mrs. Ganushe's grave as well as
other activities firsthand to put an end
to her curse that was left on her.
We spot a terrific beginning that
involves a bunch of Spanish
people performing a
ceremony with many suspenseful shots on
them flying around the room with evil
spirits around as well as a good shot on
a young one with a floor
breaking up looking like a firey hell and
a good close up shot on another one watching in terror.
We have a good close up camera shot on Mrs. Ganush tapping her fingers on a
desk at a bank with the camera looking up
at her. We then spot a good discussion
scene between Christine Brown and Mrs. Ganush in a bank trying to sort
something out with her acting
gross in which we spot close up shots on
what she's doing.
There's a good tense moment with Mrs. Ganush trying to kneel down and plead
to her on keeping her house and getting
crazy bout it with Christine freaking out. Then we spot good raging
actions on her trying to
attack her with a security taking her
out of the bank while going in such a
maniacal aggression.
We have a good quiet moment with Christine in a parking lots trying to get to her
car looking a little nervous that someone
is watching her.
We have a good moment with her in her car and it's too silent but then a
handkerchief hits her window along with a
good shot on Mrs. Ganush in the
backseat with her evil glance and trying
to strangle her as we have a good shot on
Christine herself trying to drive the car and
crashing into a vehicle showing great
suspenseful shots on their struggle as
well as Mrs. Ganush tearing a button
on her coat and holding it in the air.
There's a nice moment when Christine is at her home and then hears sounds in
her home with a bunch of noisy things in
her home and good quick shots on the
things surrounding her house looking like
a poltergeist happening as it makes you
cringe big time with a good ghostly
shadow effects too.
We have a nice shot on Christine staring at a fortune telling shop as if
something is telling her to go there and
have a good silent moment between her and the
fortune teller trying to tell her fortune
and then a good jump shot on a ferocious
spirit lumping and then he is nervously
telling her he can't help her and will
refund her money which looked believeably
done too.
There's a nice shot on Christine sleeping with a fly circling around her
and going through her nose and in her
mouth which looked creepy along with a
good shot on maggots circling around her
with Mrs. Ganush terrorising her which
looked grossly done but in a good
way.
There's a good shot on Christine sneezing with blood gushing out of her
nose and hitting her employer who reacts
well by being grossed out.
We have a good moment with Christine knocking on a door and the elderly lady's granddaughter showing
a good stand offish attitude when she
tries to plead to her to see her grandma.
We spot good shots on family members
dining looking like they're having a
party and then she falls onto a corpse
with gross results.
We have a good close up shot on Christine reading a book about sacrifices to do
away evil spirits and then a cute shot on
her kitten pawing at her.
We have some good shadowy effects with her trying to hide in her room with a nice
shot under the door showing goats feet
making the picture look really spooky.
There's a good shot on her holding up a knife calling for her kitty
as it was strongly done but didn't
like what was going to happen.
There's a good scene with her acting full of life towards her boyfriend thinking that
her troubles are over. A good touch to that moment.
There's a good discussion with a parent
towards Christine at a dinner table
acting a bit prissy towards her and then
showing like they are having a good
conversation. Next we have a creepy but
comedic moment with Christine herself spotting her
cake possessed and then she goes off
ranting and screaming. Raimi knew how to turn the tables during this
moment.
There's good shots on her putting stuff in boxes and then behaving
aggressively in a shack to look for other
stuff along with a nice jumping moment on
a haunting of Mrs. Ganush putting her
hand in her mouth with many good shots on
her about to pull a rope that's tied to
an anvil ready to set it off.
We have a good conversation between Mr. Jacks and Christine when she tries to ask
about a job as assitant manager and he
tells her some upsetting news which was
really believeable to others about
employment with a good close up shot on
her getting teary.
We've got a great setting with Christine and Rham Jas approaching Shaun San Dena on
performing an exorcism and have good
shots on them performing a ceremony with
the chants and Shaun singing
a chant too. We spot many possessions
with attackings etc. which Raimi seems
to pay his tribute to his Evil
Dead years.
There's many good takes on Christine at a diner drinking coffee or eating
something as well as acting aggressive
towards a waitress.
We spot some good shots on Christine digging up a grave with a camera shooting
up her and it's raining heavily and she
gets aggressive towards the dead corpse
stuffing the button in the dead bodies
mouth and having a bitchy attitude. Then
we spot numerous suspenseful shots on
her trying to climb out of the grave and
slipping and sliding which makes you
wonder if she will get buried alive under
the mud.
A perfect shocking
ending at a railway station with Christine and her boyfriend but won't give that away folks.
It leaves a door open to a sequel that's
for sure.
Bottom line is that I loved this film
as it's full of scares and thrills and
one of the best horror movies during this
year to top it all off.
We have some gross outs with the evil old
lady as well as some shocks and
sacrifices which made me think if
anything graphic happens I'm leaving the
theatre and thankfully that never
happened but there is a sacrifice of a
kitter killed offscreen and it bothered
me as it was a cute little tabby but I
can understand the black humor to those
who don't like cats and of course it's
only a movie and no animals were harmed.
This is the only part I would criticise
and felt like saying to Sam Raimi how could he do that? If you like films that are silent and
then something noisy happens that will
make you jump then this is the film for
you showing plenty of supernatural and
psychological moments on what can happen
to you if you do a deed someone doesn't
like which is of course karma.Also it is disturbing on someone selling
everything they've got to pay someone to
perform an exorcism which is hard to
watch too.
The acting is very
well done as lead actress Allison
Lohman (Christine Brown) seemed a little too plain
like those typical Hollywood pretty faces
but proved her stuff well enough with her
stressful attitude and her aggressions
too making herself quite energetic. She
showed a nice bitchiness to her part as
well. Plus in a scene screams well in surprise while in her car by what she spots.
Justin Long (Clay Dalton) has the right looks as
the young man next door type of appeal
and proves his stuff as the sympathetic
boyfriend in the film. He stresses his
character well enough too. Does well screaming to get a corpse off
of her in a certain scene of a funeral ceremony.
Lorna Raver (Mrs. Ganush) was the best out of the
whole cast as an eccentric old woman in
the film and knew how to act outrageously
insane and aggressive showing perfect
terror with her facial expressions and
knew how to act believeably violent and
demonicly ghostly too.
Dileep Rao (Rham Jas) knew how to come across a
bit humoress at first and very quietlike
and serious about his work as the fortune
teller in the film expressing his words
clear in an indian accent which was well
done.
David Paymer (Mr. Jacks) played a good bank
manager making his part very real and
expressing on what he has to say in a
good fashion.
Adriana Barraza (Shaun San Dena) made a perfect witch
doctor of some sort expressing her
behavior terrifically and showing nice
energy to her supporting role with a good
voice. Even if she didn't have a huge
role in the movie she will be well
remembered.
Reggie Lee (Stu Rubin) knows his stuff as an
arrogant assistant employer at the bank
acting fresh but knew how to act pleading
when he did something wrong and not
wanting others to know about it.
Not much gore as
we spot a gruseome nosebleed
We have some terrific
classical suspenseful music with the
great banging sounds to make you jump
too. There's also the nice sad echoey
piano playing for the sad moments as well
as the chanting music for the hauntings.
Mrs. Ganush: I beg
and you shame me?
Christine Brown: I
beat you, you old bitch!
Mr. Jacks: [after
being sprayed head to toe in blood]
"Did I get any in my mouth?"
Christine Brown:
Here kitty, kitty...
Christine
Brown: It's a harvest cake.
Goat:
[bleating] You tricked me, you
black-hearted who-o-o-o-o-ore! You
b-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-itch!
Waitress:
So you're just going to sit here all
night, drinking coffee?
Christine Brown: Yes... No! Maybe!
Whats it to you?
Christine Brown: Honey, I'm
working a job where tips is my living,
and coffee drinkers DON'T TIP!
Christine Brown: [Holds up
envelope containing the cursed button]
You keep the coffee coming honey, or I'll
give you a tip you won't forget!
Clay
Dalton: You have such a good heart.
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