Intense, gripping, stylish and poignant

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

I saw this movie before reading any reviews, and I thought it was very funny. I was very surprised to see the overwhelmingly negative reviews this film received from critics.

One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

Jack (Rory Culkin) writes for a magazine in L.A. He is a wordsmith, but doesn't interact normally, but is functional. Hearing that his father has passed in an accident, Jack goes home to help his mother (Lin Shaye) who has her own issues. Jack sleep walks, hallucinates, enjoys substance abuse, and has a secret in the attic. The ending has a twist which I should have seen coming.Be careful what you read, as the twist makes the film and can easily ruin it. The plot spoilers are out there. The film is a psychological thriller, as we unlock the secrets in the attic with Jack. During the film, there is a house close next door that can be seen from Jack's window. At the end they show an aerial view of the house, which clearly doesn't have any house that close. I liked the performances and dialogue is spite of some formula writing.Guide: F-word. MM sex. No nudity

The film centers around Jacob, who is weird and defensive and maybe a jerk or maybe a misunderstood, damaged soul. Jacob's girlfriend is pregnant and then he gets a call that his father has died in an accident. So Jacob goes home. Rory Culkin as Jacob is in almost every scene and that's a good thing. Even though this film was disturbing and ultimately disappointing, I watched all of it. It kept me on the edge of my seat, wanting to know what the hell was going on. Which is part of this movie's problem: too much was going on. Had the story been stripped to its bones and had the film been cut back in length, it would've been better. As it is, it's atmospheric but frustrating and messy. It's beautifully shot and Rory Culkin was pretty amazing. I read another review saying he was basically a block of ice but I completely disagree. The leads (especially Culkin) made what otherwise would've been crappy dialogue sound natural and all round I thought the cast was decent to very good. What I don't get is why anyone would hire Natasha Lyonne or Nikki Reed to then only give them one short scene. Makes me suspect scenes were cut and somebody hadn't figured out beforehand what do storywise.

I believe this could have been a good movie - IF the writer finished the story BEFORE he filmed it. The cinematography, the location and the actual idea - was fantastic. The actor who played Jack was monotone at best. I could not believe any emotions he was trying to portray, and trust me...I sincerely tried. I feel like the story is incomplete, several parts were completely wasted and could have been nurtured into a real movie. But sometimes you have to see to believe - if you are sick and need to rest and get some sleep, please feel free to watch.....And because I have to write a minimum of 10 lines.....Go get something for the headache you will have, grab some popcorn and a drink - and be prepared to be disappointed

There is a list published of the events that cause the most stress and trauma in the human experience. The #1 "event" listed is death of a spouse. Surprisingly, losing a parent is not that high up on the list,although many of us would beg to differ. There are many events not included in the list. Culkin is phenomenal as the snotty hipster turned severely emotionally damaged as he delves into secrets long left behind in his old childhood home that he revisits. I mean, he really was incredible. The mother play equally well, as the Mother From Hell (my words) who has occasional slips of the tongue where you think she may actually be normal. She is not. No one in this movie is normal - no one. Everyone is broken in some way. This movie is incredibly dark - it really was too dark for me, but I can't fault it for that - it did keep my interest and the acting was superb. It did leave me feeling unsettled - I won't soon forget this movie. But I wish I could. Make of that what you will. I do question the retention of memories of trauma, but I am not a mental health professional. However, I obliged for purposes of watching this movie. Oh - and yes, it is a creepy movie. There are fine lines between what a tormented mind can come up with, what really happened and what is happening in the world beyond us. I found this movie had elements of Sybil, Flowers in the Attic and The Changling (the old one with George C. Scott, not the Jolie one which is a different movie of the same name).