The Pact (2012)

As one of the most frustrating horror films I've ever sat through, "The Pact" is an irrational balance of well designed suspense sequences smothered amidst a somewhat confusing and at many times inconceivable storyline. Written and directed by first time feature film director Nicholas McCarthy, and adapted from McCarthy's own short film, "The Pact" gives an interesting take on the generic haunted house story, but with a script that really makes little sense, containing so many ill advised twists that are bookended by a myriad of distracting plot points concerning people dying and disappearing and nobody seeming to care. And even if one were to put the confusing nature of "The Pact" aside, the larger cloud which looms over it is a conclusion that detours so far off of the spooky/ghost story path from which it began, that it sadly becomes a mundane "who done it" story, the likes of which one would see on The Lifetime Network. The Plot: When a woman dies, her two daughters come to her house only to come in contact with a series of seemingly paranormal happenings. And to make things worse, one night one of the sister's disappears, leaving the other to solve a mystery that coincides with a horrible secret her mother has kept for more than thirty years. Now while this premise does play out to be rather intriguing and the suspense (for most of the film) makes a strong case for low budget horror stories, as soon as crucial plot points begin to arise (beginning around half way through the movie) "The Pact" slowly begins to unravel, resulting in a film which becomes more and more confusing and, in the end, more and more forgettable. Side Note Challenge: Even the title is somewhat confusing since there doesn't seem to be an official pact (or a discussion of said pact) anywhere in the film. So, here is your challenge my loyal readers: Anyone who has seen this film, and is currently reading this, please write me back and enlighten me about when said "pact" takes place. Thusly, you will be crowned as the smartest man/woman who ever lived. Final Thought: Let me reiterate that the only real plus with "The Pact" is how suspenseful it is; at least for the initial hour. But it still doesn't erase that fact that time and time again, due to a very misguided script, this is a film which hits multiple cinematic forks in the road; where one path leads down a predictable but rather interesting road, and another which leads down the path of predictably dull and extremely lackluster. Guess which path "The Pact" goes down, every single time. Written by Markus Robinson, Edited by Nicole I. Ashland Check out my other reviews at: http://www.examiner.com/indie-movie-in-san-jose/markus-robinson Follow me on Twitter @moviesmarkus