'The Apparition' Movie Review

Ghost movies tend to be the most popular sub-genre of horror cinema and the most likely to cross over into the mainstream, thanks in part to a dearth of the type of explicit gore found in other styles, like slashers and zombie films. However, unless the moviegoing public has some sort of widespread head trauma that I'm not aware of, a movie as bad as The Apparition will be hard-pressed to find favor with a broad audience.

Not long after Kelly (Ashley Greene) and her boyfriend Ben (Sebastian Stan) move into her parents' rental property in the dusty desert of Palmdale, California, they begin to experience unexplained phenomena: furniture moving, doors opening by themselves, a strange mold seemingly forming overnight. Kelly soon comes to suspect that the house is haunted, but while Ben seems skeptical, secretly he knows they could be in danger.

That's because years earlier, when he was in college, he and classmates Patrick (Tom Felton) and Lydia (Julianna Guill) conducted an experiment to prove the existence of the paranormal by conjuring a supernatural entity. They succeed (hooray!), but at the cost of Lydia disappearing into some sort of otherworldly vortex (oh no!). Now, the entity seems to have returned for Patrick and Ben and, for some reason, Kelly...and the neighbor's dog.

The Apparition is the most terrifying movie I've seen this year -- for all the wrong reasons. It's frightening to think that a major studio like Warner Brothers would not only release a film this bad into theaters nationwide (granted, in a modest 800 theaters -- an indication of the studio's lack of confidence), but that it would even green light it in the first place. It plays like something generated by a horror movie-making computer program, coldly combining expected genre tropes ("edgy" POV shots, overblown musical cues, panty shots, etc. ad nauseum) with soulless characters to form a big, steaming pile of clichés and blandness. The concept behind the film -- that of creating an entity using mental energy and sheer will -- is intriguing, but the movie never delves into that potential, instead making the easiest, laziest, least creative decision at every turn.

I'd like to give first-time writer-director Todd Lincoln the benefit of the doubt -- maybe there was studio interference -- but my first instinct is to say that he shouldn't be allowed anywhere near a movie set ever again. His script is beyond awful, his direction is sterile and lacking any knowledge of how to generate scares and his ability to coax good performances out of his cast is sorely lacking. The writing is the worst aspect, glossing over any character development (He's a techie! She wants to be a vet! They're in love!) and leaving us with flat, dull-as-dirt leads we'd rather see dead than alive. Details are glossed over, and plot points are raised and abandoned with such regularity that by the end, you're actually thankful the script isn't more ambitious, lest you be subjected to another 20 minutes of sheer hell.

This is Hollywood horror at its worst, a pointed attempt to force a hit by stealing bits from other similar -- and far better -- fright flicks (Paranormal Activity, The Grudge, Poltergeist) without imbuing it with any sense of love for the genre or desire to push any boundaries.

• Acting: D (Ranges from lifeless and cold to over-the-top and melodramatic.)
• Direction: D- (Fails to generate any scares or any good performances from the cast.)
• Script: F (Is there such a thing as an "F-minus"?)
• Gore/Effects: C- (No gore; merely competent computer effects.)
• Overall: D- (Possibly the worst wide theatrical release horror movie of 2012.)

The Apparition is directed by Todd Lincoln and is rated PG-13 by the MPAA for terror/frightening images and some sensuality. Release date: August 24, 2012.

Disclosure: The studio provided free access to this movie for review purposes. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.