By 7.9 / 8.1
As a die-hard Shudder fan, I’m disappointed in myself that I didn’t realize that this was a remake of a fairly recent foreign horror film.
As for the American version, James McAvoy really makes it all work. Without him and his perfected mask slips and eventual descent into madness, I’m not sure they pull it off. I was genuinely uncomfortable from beginning to end. There’s just enough “off” in each scene to keep you on edge and keep you guessing where the next turn will lead. I will also never hear the Bangles’ “Eternal Flame” the same ever again.
Onto the foreign version… they really went all out. Where I didn’t think the remake pulled any punches, it turns out that there was indeed more room for things to get worse… much, much worse… This one is definitely not for the faint of heart or weak of stomach.
Brett Garten, Movie Extraordinare 