Lynn Biederstadt

I wanted to like this film. From the trailers and advance information, I expected to. But I didn't. Some films pull you into their premise; they find the seat of uneasiness deep within you and evoke a personal, inexplicable sense of dread. Others throw their dread at you and hope it sticks. This film did the latter. I kept waiting for the fear to arrive. I followed the story's unfulfilling paths through a meaningless maze, all the way to an empty ending. A few grotesque and gross moments at the end are not an adequate replacement for substance...and they don't pay back the time you've invested waiting for that substance to arrive. This was one of those films for which "meh" is a generous reaction. For me, it was nothing more than time wasted.

I haven't seen this film in a number of years. Not sure I have the courage to. From the opening credits to the (to me) horrific ending, this film ties me in knots. I saw it first in a re-release in Chicago; had to be taken out for pancakes after. Not sure what the visceral, twisting hold on me is, but it out-wrenches any jump-scare, blood-spurting film I have ever seen. If anyone ever tells you that Rock Hudson is not a terrific actor (and I count myself among the critics of the cotton candy roles on which his career was made), show them this. The unbandaging scene in front of the mirror, to the high whine at the end as the world tests away...my breath catches just remembering it.