Before we get into the review this movie marks the return of Christopher Lee to Hammer horror. A staple in Hammer horror films before its resurrection in the last few years. Lee doesn’t have a big role but it’s nice to see a nod that played such a big role in Hammer horror. You may remember him from such recent films as Lord of the Rings or the Star wards reboot. He also appears in the Simon Pegg film Burke and Hare. He also had a small role in one of my favorite movies Sleepy Hollow. “CONSTABLE CRANE!”
In 1957 he starred as Count Dracula with Peter Cushing as Van Helsing. This was a completely different spin on the Dracula from the Universal Studios adaptation. It was so different Hammer considered fired the art director and going another direction in the end they stuck with it. As the Dracula series progress it was regressing in the eyes of Lee who grew unhappy with the scripts and directions of the sequel. He also spoke at least one line from Bram Stoker’s novel in each film. Lee would later go on to play The Mummy in 1959.
That being said Lee is a horror legend and it is a shame that award shows typically only focus on those actors whom we are most familiar with from generation to generation rather than those that paved the way no matter how big or how small the party they play.
I say that because Lee plays a very small part in this overly predictable voyeuristic film. Hillary Swank plays Juilet an overworked stressed out broken heart surgeon that hopes to pick up the pieces of her life after she walks in on her boyfriend having sex with another woman. She picks up and moves to Brooklyn into a to good to be true apartment.
There are only a couple of settings throughout the whole film and only 3 – 4 characters total. Which doesn’t leave much to the imagination of who the creepy voyeur might be. Jeffery Dean Morgan plays Max who owns the apartment Juilet decides to rent. The only other main players are Christopher Lee who plays an aging sick grandfather of Max and Juilet’s ex-boyfriend Jack.
I will try not to ruin this for you but there are no characters in the film to provide a red herring. No janitor, creepy neighbor, stalker. Nothing. You’ll know the killer about 20 minutes into the film and when they finally do reveal it – it seems a bit to soon.
While I didn’t hate this film it is very predictable and the ending almost feels abrupt. Perhaps a twist would have been fitting and satifying but overall this movie falls flat.
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