Marketing was lauding it as the scariest movie of the year, and trailers looked promising. Unfortunately, it failed to live up to not only its own hype but the high bar that has been set by horror movies these days. Instead of a deep-dive into the intricacies of death and the doctor’s beliefs in a life hereafter, it becomes an overcomplicated but still superficial jump-scare extravaganza that had the potential to terrify you in your soul.
The Creed family leaves the hustle of city life behind for a quiet small town in a house on the edge of some creepy woods. Their friendly neighbour Judd shows the doctor a terrible secret cemetery, and after a horrible tragedy, it seduces a grieving father to do the unspeakable. just had so much potential - its dark subject matter would have made great fuel for subtle horror, but instead, it became a kill-fest that comes straight out of a C-grade horror film. There is some merit in swapping out the boy for the girl to become the villain, but as many have mentioned giving the undead more agency in their actions and communication dulls the effect it could have had from one that looks innocent but doesn’t speak, like in the first film adaptation.
But even in the ‘better’ part, two elements just fell completely flat. Firstly it was the ghostly apparition of a dead patient that haunts the doctor - but for someone that doesn’t believe in the afterlife, he’s far too quick to accept the ghost and the subsequent revival of his cat. He never grapples with his beliefs properly, and this is the key that could have clicked everything else in place., completely separate to the main story - the flashbacks of the wife’s dead sister.