An Exercise In Nonsense

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

I first saw this movie in 2006,and I was currently 10 years old, andthis movie scared me to death.But then again, that's whatit is supposed to do:) My main thingis all the people saying how they cut it off within 45 minutes of watching it. I realize this movie can take a while to get you caught up but it really will , especially in the last 30 minutes. So shut up and watch the wholemovie before you post a review:) E N J O Y !

I came across this movie on the Lifetime Movie Network this past Saturday while scrolling the channels. I probably should have flipped back to "Quatermass and The Pit" on TCM or "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" on AMC.Anyway, this movie, which is an "in name only" sequel to the less-than-stellar "Glass House," concerns Eve (Angie Harmon) and Raymond Goode (Joel Gretsch), who have just lost their son David. They become foster parents to Abby (Jordan Hinson) and Ethan (Bobby Coleman).Right off the bat, Eve, who suffers from Munchausen's Syndrome, goes overboard in being a good mother, to the point of being psychotic. She ultimately terrorizes the children by stitching up wounds with no anesthesia, "curing" rashes with oven cleaner, etc.You can read other reviews for the gist of the story. Harmon is an amazing actress. However, she is hampered by her goody-two shoes image. It's hard to imagine her as a villain, especially when she almost comically snarls, rears back and gives Abby a Steffi Graf-level backhand.Hinson is adequate as Abby. Gretsch is completely useless as the spineless hubby Ray and the actor annoys by being up and down in his performance, as if he's following the director's cue every moment.The worst part of the movie is the entire premise. The Goodes are wealthy yet we never see them at work, though Eve is supposed to be a nurse. We don't know what Ray does but the pair have a huge Gothic-style mansion and a large estate. Yet, we see no groundskeepers, no maids, no gardeners.We learn the Goodes took in another kid before David but he simply disappeared. But, no one from Child Services bothers to ask what happened to him before giving the Goodes more kids to destroy.The kids don't go to school, yet no one comes around to ask. Even worse, Abby never leaves the grounds. She doesn't do anything a normal teen girl does -- call friends, make friends, head to the mall, hang out, text. She doesn't even make phone calls to the police to alert them to what's happening to her.The movie is low-budget which hampers the director's ability to have the police come out in force. However, that doesn't excuse the director from doing common sense things to give his film credibility.Finally, the ending is totally contrived and uses just about every cliché in the Hollywood suburban thriller handbook. Abby can't do anything to get out of the house. The lone cop (Jason London) never calls for backup even after discovering a body. Eve is kicked down a flight of stairs and cracks her head -- twice. Yet, is up and brandishing a cleaver with no ill effects. Even Ray, the spineless hubby, finally grows one and saves the day with a gun out of nowhere.The whole movie would fit neatly into the Lifetime network's brand of tear-jerker, damsel in improbably danger kind of plot. For the rest of us, it's just lazy, clichéd and imperfect.

Despite Angie Harmon's decent performance as a mother who suffers from Munchausen syndrome by proxy -- in the extreme -- there is no reason to waste two hours of your life watching this absurd movie. Ms. Harmon's skillful interpretation of a demented, murderous psychopath cannot offset a ridiculous script. The plot involves a wealthy couple who adopt two children, a little boy and a teenage girl. They are occupants of a Gothic mansion in an undisclosed location. Almost immediately, the teenager suspects something is amiss with this couple, but unlike most teenagers who manage to get out of the house when they want to, this one is somehow unable to do so, even to get help to save her life and that of her little brother. The fact that this is a low-budget effort becomes evident when, although the couple live in a huge house with presumably quite a bit of property, no household or grounds help or service providers ever make an appearance. Nor do any relatives, friends, neighbors or business associates show up. The children do not go to school, so no classmates, teachers, school administrators or social workers come poking around. The sole outside person is a police officer who is clueless as to the situation in which the children have been placed. Apparently no background checks were done or it would have been revealed that not only did the couple's little son die, but they also adopted another little boy whose whereabouts are unknown. This information should have given someone pause before providing these lunatics with additional children to dispose of. We're not told how the couple manages to afford such a grand home, although mom is supposedly a nurse, which makes it convenient for her to make her children very ill so she can nurse them back to health -- before she repeats the cycle. As the improbable story drags on, it focuses on mom's jealousy of the teenager and her vicious treatment of her. Although the teen attempts to contact the outside world regarding her plight, she has to be the only teen on the planet who cannot manage to get out a phone call, text message or email. The husband is a complete wimp under the spell of his deranged wife, powerless to stop her as she continues her vendetta against the young girl and repeatedly makes the little boy extremely ill. Ultimately, a light bulb goes off over the police officer's head, and he calls for help, which arrives only after he is attacked and the woman and girl battle it out. The battle culminates when, after being terrorized by Ms. Harmon's character, our teen girl merely pushes her down the stairs. But, still, the mother-of-the-year does not die until -- surprise -- father-of-the-year puts a bullet in her. To her credit, Jordan Hinson, who plays the teen, did not do an eye roll when the whole mess ended.

The premise, an insane uber-mother doles out practiced physical abuse, is a fairly sound launching point for this suspense thriller. The story is well-structured and the dialog is better than its B-movie status. The principle cast does what they can with what they're given and the cinematography & lighting are top-notch.However, the direction and editing are horrible. The director has no sense of mise-en-scene; every shot is crowded. The camera is ever-moving with "look at me, I went to film school" joy. The editing was overly busy. Every single transition was hallmarked with an establishing shot of the house's exterior.Had the camera settled down, and the story (not editing) carried the pace this would've been a much better film.Jordan Hinson, a young actress, holds the film's center very well.Bottomline: Not worth watching.