Things Heard And Seen, 2021

This is an American horror movie that is directed and written by Robert Pulcini and Shari Springer Berman from the novel by Elizabeth Brundage entitled “All Things Cease to Appear.”

Cast Lists

Narrative

In 1980, an art restorer, Catherine Claire, dwells in Manhattan together with George and Franny, her husband and daughter. When George landed a job to teach art history in college their family transferred to a bigger farmhouse at the upstate NYC. Catherine, who suffered from bulimia, felt isolated in their home. She saw an old Bible that has the family tree of their former owners, the Smits; most of the names were scratched out and then marked as “Damned.” She sensed the spirit and saw odd lights leading her into the antique ring, which then she starts wearing. Franny saw the female spirit inside her room and insisted on sleeping together with her parents. And then Catherine employed brothers’ Cole and Eddie Lucks as the handyman and babysitter, but then George started his affair with Willis, Eddie’s cousin.

Catherine befriended Justine Sokolov, George’s colleague. George invited to his home their art history department head, Floyd DeBeers. Floyd felt the presence of the soul, but assured Catherine that the soul is benevolent and offered to hold the séance. Catherine and George throw the party, where Catherine discovers the former owners, who passed away through murder-suicide, whose Cole and Eddie’s parents, and that the ring belong Ella, their mother. She confronted George about the violent history of the house. As they argued, the radio starts playing and only stopping if George smashed it. Catherine asked George to get Franny to the house of his parents.

While George was gone, Floyd and Catherine hold the séance and Ella’s ghost was summoned. Floyd told Catherine that there was another soul inside the dwelling place and that she must be careful. Catherine discovered George’s special thing with Willis. On the class trip, Justine overheard the talk between George and the dissertation advisor, who asked how he had been hired without the letter of recommendation. George was confronted by Floyd, who admitted to forging the recommendation. At the family dinner, Catherine discovers that the paintings that George claimed were included in his work were really drawn by his cousin, his cousin that drowned in a boat accident. Her trust crushed, Catherine starts her affair with Eddie.

Writer’s Notion

The movie is more on the supernatural thriller that has a creepy atmosphere. It had gotten pretty negative assessments already. This film is really intriguing, it works with mystery and drama level, and although it is not that scary, it can be said that some of the horror elements within this movie are really done well. The acting all around is solid, and the movie direction is competent.

The thing is, because the movie is inspired and from a book, the movie tried to do so much. There are casts and plot lines that you can imagine are essential in the book, however, failed to make a kind of impact that they were really meant to in the movie. It is hard to go to details without spoiling, however, more emphasis on the main plot lines and the character would serve the movie really well. There is no doubt that the source materials are fantastic, however, the movie will have done even better when some of it have just been staying there in the book.

There are some that would argue that this would has been better when the movie was a little bit shorter, but, the length was what makes this movie work well in the end. The movie is a decent supernatural thriller, although with a little bit much going on.

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