Writer: Gary Dauberman (Screenplay)
Starring: Michael Vartan, Erin Moriarty, Nadine Velazquez, Ronnie Gene Blevins, JoBeth Williams, Dorian Kingi
Plot: A thriller centered around a widower who moves into a seemingly perfect new home with his daughter and new wife.
Tagline – You can’t keep out what’s already inside
Runtime: 1 Hour 28 Minutes
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Standard Creep Person Living in House Movie
Story: Within starts with the Alexander family, John (Vartan), Hannah (Moriarty) and Melanie (Velazquez) moving into a new home after the previous situation becoming a problem. Melanie is the new wife that is trying to build her relationship with Hannah, while John and Hannah still trying to make amends for their disagreement which led to the move.
After learning they are living in the ‘creepy’ house in the neighbourhood, Hannah starts to believe not everything is right and soon we learn the truth as the battle to survive in their home is on.
Thoughts on Within
Characters – John is the father of the house, we know he has been on hard times and this house is all he can afford for his family. He does love both his wife and daughter and is trying to teach his daughter a lesson after her mistakes have led them to this location. Hannah is his daughter of John that has been getting herself in trouble which caused the move, she is grounded and is the first one to notice the strange events around the house. Melanie is the new wife and step-mother to Hannah, she doesn’t do much beyond the normal, which is mostly trying to be the best friend in her time of need. Ray is the creepy neighbor that offers to help change the locks, less we say about him the better.
Performances – When we look at the performances in this film we must be praising Erin Moriarty as she is excellent in her role, the weaknesses come from the parental characters, Michael Vartan and Nadine Velazquez who both don’t seem to do much with their roles in the film.
Story – The story here follows the family that move into a new home only to start seeing strange things happening and we fall in the, ‘creepy person living in the attic’ sub-genre, which is one that I feel is getting tiresome, there is only so much you can do while telling this story and if we are being honest we have seen it done on better levels before. The build up follows the checklist and by the end of the film the story just feels like it is trying to hard to be different, rather than good.
Horror – The horror in the film comes from the idea that someone could be living in your house, it is an easy idea for because being haunted in your own home should be working, though this misses the tension required for the film.
Settings – The film is set entirely inside the one house, which is all we need as this keeps the film contained for the maximum levels of horror, even if they don’t use it well.
Special Effects – The effects for the most part are good with the kills looking extra brutal when they hit.
Scene of the Movie – The first meeting of David.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – We have seen this too much.
Final Thoughts – This is a by the books horror that doesn’t test the audience enough, it has an easy out which doesn’t get used at all, though the killer does look creepy throughout.
Overall: Been here seen this.
Rating