Whut… the titles said “Paramount” and then “MTV Movies” and then a bunch of other producers. So how is this a Netflix Original?
Oh:
In October 2017, Paramount Players acquired distribution rights to the film, and set it for a January 4, 2019 release. However, Netflix acquired distribution rights to the film from Paramount, when the studio reportedly couldn’t figure out how to market the film.
So the original studio thought they had a total dud on their hands so they foisted it off on Netflix. Well, that’s not an uncommon story.
I’m just a few minutes in, and I’m already pretty annoyed. The father talks in a voice that makes him sound like he’s auditioning for Batman XIII (but I’ve heard real Americans affect that range, so while it sounds stupid, it’s a real thing), and the kid is perpetually frightened and wide-eyed, and a decontamination chamber that’s a couple of blow-dryers… I forgot where I was going with that sentence.
Let’s concentrate on watching the movie instead!
[time passes]
I’m an hour in now, and I’ve lost all interest in this ghost story. I’m not sure just why it’s so unengaging: The scares aren’t bad, exactly… The audio is pretty efficient… perhaps it’s just because of the casting of the central family?
The end was surprising, though. Kudos for that.
This post is part of the NFLX2019 blog series.