Naomi Watts makes us sympathize with Mary as she brings out the character’s heartache, while Charlie Heaton (of Netflix’s Stranger Things) is so good that you hope he will accept more roles in horror - his portrayal of the deeply disturbed Stephen is raw, emotional, and frankly, the most terrifying aspect of the film. Luckily, the actors add some intrigue to a lackluster script that’s filled with far too many meaningless pauses, not to mention some frankly dubious science that requires a fair bit of suspension of disbelief. And though the final twist is quite unpredictable, the movie decides to beat audience members over the head with every point it hopes to make via lengthy scenes that feel inorganic, a maddening flaw that detracts from the quality of the film. The plot ambles too slowly to its peak, making a 90-minute picture feel longer than it should. While undoubtedly disturbing, Shut In lacks the same disquieting subtleties that made its aforementioned predecessors so effective. She refuses, and the visions persist until things finally escalate to a horrifying, Oedipal climax during a snowstorm that has left Mary and Stephen housebound with an unexpected guest. However, Mary’s own psychiatrist (Oliver Platt) is certain that she’s just consumed by her own guilt and seeing things as a result, and attempts to prescribe her drugs to help her sleep. Theyre happy to pay producer Jerry Bruckheimers mortgage, you knowTom.After a young patient of hers named Tom (Jacob Tremblay) disappears, Mary starts experiencing unsettling visions and hearing strange noises in her home, and she ultimately becomes convinced that Tom’s ghost is haunting her. They know the movie better than I do at this point, he joked. Mary remains largely confined to her home in cold, rural Maine as she takes care of Stephen while running her practice out of a building on the property. The movie follows Mary Portman (Naomi Watts), a child psychologist who is still reeling from a car accident that killed her husband and rendered her 18-year-old stepson Stephen (Charlie Heaton) completely paralyzed and unable to speak. Like earlier movies in the same vein such as The Babadook, Orphan, and The Witch, an unreliable narrator leaves the audience guessing what’s really happening, while the horror of the film is thematically centered on a family in the wake of a traumatic and forced transition. Watts and Platt, both fine actors, give it their best shot, but you have to wonder why up-and-coming younger actors Heaton (from Netflix's Stranger Things) and Tremblay ( Room) ever signed on to so pathetic a movie.Shut In, the latest entry in the psychological-horror genre, does its best to tap into the quiet nuances of maternal horror. Characters endlessly search for things in the dark, and there are nightmare sequences and a few lazy jump-scares. Otherwise, the movie, directed by Farren Blackburn (of Netflix's Daredevil), goes through the motions of clunky, obvious storytelling, with some clumsy references to The Shining and some sequences in which an ordinary person somehow has supernatural powers, able to sneak up on anyone, instantly, without making a sound. It's difficult to discuss Shut In's biggest failures without giving away the plot, but let's just say that, when all is revealed, most audiences will simply shake their heads in disbelief, rather than clutch their seats in shock. This shockingly empty thriller has a great cast, but, while delivering its jump-scares, it completely ignores the story's looming, daunting psychological and emotional ramifications.
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