- Emilia Clarke vs The FBI in ABOVE SUSPICION [Trailer]
- Emilia Clarke vs The FBI in ABOVE SUSPICION [Trailer]
- Ben Wheatley Returns with IN THE EARTH [Trailer]
- Ben Wheatley Returns with IN THE EARTH [Trailer]
- Josh Hartnett is Memorable in Drug Drama INHERIT THE VIPER [Review]
- Cube Meets Saw in MEANDER Trailer from Mathieu Turi
- EIFF 2019: ANIARA is a Deeply Haunting Sci-Fi Experience [Review]
- BERLINALE 2021: TIDES Comes After Hell [Trailer]
- EIFF 2019: ANIARA is a Deeply Haunting Sci-Fi Experience [Review]
- Darkstar Pictures Announces Free Online Film Festival!
- Re: Occupation, Australian Sci Fi movie
- Slice of Life, Blade Runner inspired short
- Is Snowpeircer a sequel to Willy Wonka?
- Re: Yesterday
- Re: Yesterday
- Yesterday
- Re: White Night (or where do I get my 30 + from now?)
- Re: White Night (or where do I get my 30 + from now?)
- Re: White Night (or where do I get my 30 + from now?)
- Re: White Night (or where do I get my 30 + from now?)
- Don't Mess With the SCAVENGER [Trailer]
- BERLINALE 2021: TIDES Comes After Hell [Trailer]
- LUNATIQUE Director Returns with WASTELAND 3 Promo [Short Film]
- A Comet Destoys Earth in GREENLAND Trailer
- Interactive WAR OF THE WORLDS Adaptation Out Now!
- 8K Trailer for Train to Busan Sequel PENINSULA Drops Hard!
- Making a Bomb Shelter in a Funhouse is a Bad Idea in IMPACT EVENT [Trailer]
- Retro Slave: FOX's Post-Apocalyptic Sitcom WOOPS!
- TRAIN TO BUSAN Sequel PENINSULA Gets a Teaser Trailer
- New on Blu-ray and DVD for March 11, 2020
- The Apocalypse Kills Women in ONLY [Trailer]
- SATOR is a Welcome Addition to the Folk Horror Canon [Review]
- Women in Horror Month: NEAR DARK
- SOUTHLAND TALES: The Cannes Cut [Review]
- A Woman's Mind Unravels in BIGHT HILL ROAD [Review]
- TIFF 2020: Vanlife Gets a Reality Check in NOMADLAND [Review]
- TIFF 2020: APPLES, THE WAY I SEE IT, PIECES OF A WOMAN & ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI [Capsule Reviews]
- TIFF 2020: The Truth Tellers Return with THE NEW CORPORATION: THE UNFORTUNATELY NECESSARY SEQUEL [Review]
- TIFF 2020: NEW ORDER is Brutal, Violent & a Must-See [Review]
- TIFF 2020: ENEMIES OF THE STATE, Or Are They? [Review]
- TIFF 2020: HOLLER Explores Life in a Dying Town [Review]
- Split Personality Thriller MINOR PREMISE Coming Soon [Trailer]
- Who Hunts Who in HUNTER HUNTER? [Trailer]
- SKYLINES Is Coming! [Poster Premiere]
- Enter for Your Chance to Win a Blu-Ray Copy of 2067 [Contest]
- Saskatoon Fantastic Film Festival Returns with In-Person Event [Line Up]
- Family Drama & Creature Feature. WHAT LIES BELOW Brings Both? [Trailer]
- LUNATIQUE Director Returns with WASTELAND 3 Promo [Short Film]
- Producer Adrienne Biddle on Horror, Working with Bryan Bertino & Their Latest THE DARK AND THE WICKED [Interview]
- Joe Manganiello is a Washed Up Superhero in ARCHENEMY [Trailer]
- Nightstream Horror Festival Launches Next Week [Lineup]
- 2067 Director Talks Inspiration, Environment & Time Travel [Interview]
- THE STRANGERS Director Returns with THE DARK AND THE WICKED [Trailer]
- Michael Shannon is Crime Boss in ECHO BOOMERS [Trailer]
- Hair Extensions Get Horrific in BAD HAIR [Trailer]
- TIFF 2020: Vanlife Gets a Reality Check in NOMADLAND [Review]
- VIFF 2020: Sobriety, Reintegration & Telekinesis Come Together in THE CURSE OF WILLOW SONG [Interview]
- VIFF 2020: Revenge Thriller Re-Examined in VIOLATION [Interview]
- VIFF2020: Director Loretta Todd on the Making of Her Debut Feature MONKEY BEACH [Interview]
- TIFF 2020: APPLES, THE WAY I SEE IT, PIECES OF A WOMAN & ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI [Capsule Reviews]
- TIFF 2020: The Truth Tellers Return with THE NEW CORPORATION: THE UNFORTUNATELY NECESSARY SEQUEL [Review]
Jack In
Latest Comments
Latest Forum Posts
PA News
Latest Reviews
Older News
Crew
Marina Antunes
Editor in Chief
Vancouver, British Columbia
Christopher Webster
Managing Editor
Edmonton, Alberta
DN aka quietearth
Founder / Asst. Managing Editor
Denver, Colorado
Simon Read
UK Correspondent
Edinburgh, Scotland
Rick McGrath
Toronto Correspondent
Toronto, Ontario
Manuel de Layet
France Correspondent
Paris, France
rochefort
Austin Correspondent
Austin, Texas
Daniel Olmos
Corrispondente in Italia
Italy
Griffith Maloney aka Griffith Maloney
New York Correspondent
New York, NY
Stephanie O
Floating Correspondent
Quiet Earth Bunker
Jason Widgington
Montreal Correspondent
Montreal, Quebec
Carlos Prime
Austin Correspondent
Austin, TX
Latest news







Year: 2012
Directors: Nicholas McCarthy
Writers: Nicholas McCarthy
IMDB: link
Trailer: link
Review by: kilowog
Rating: 6 out of 10
Riding a successful wave as a short at the festival last year, writer/director Nicholas McCarthy returned to this year’s Sundance Film Festival equally buzzing early on with the feature length version of The Pact, a quite literal haunting tale of revenge and murder. Having not seen the short that inspired it, it’s only possible for this reviewer to hazard a guess as to what was lost in the translation, and wonder what other story would have been better served as the director’s feature debut in light of this film’s uneven execution.
Leading with a bait and switch, we are first introduced to insolent sister Nicole (Agnes Bruckner), a young woman struggling with a recently deceased mother and a demanding sibling, Annie (relative new talent, Caity Lotz). Upon concluding the debate surrounding the merits of their mother’s contributions to their lives, the two hang up and recovering addict Nicole moves off to a video chat with her daughter only to have it interrupted by a bad connection and a unseen element in her home. Dragged thereafter into her closet by the ghostly figure, sister Annie reports to Nicole’s house days later when her friend’s calls go unanswered. As she arrives, Nicole is nowhere to be found; only her cell phone in the closet is left to serve as a broken clue to her whereabouts. Even though we’ve spent the opening ten minutes of the film with Nicole, clearly this will not be her movie.
Taking her place as the central focus of the story, Annie attempts to utilize the help of the local police force (Casper Van Dien) to address her sister’s fate, albeit to little effect. Pushing forward on her own, Annie uncovers a group of mysterious photos and a link to a series of murders that may well be related to her sister’s disappearance. As each clue begins to fall into place, it becomes apparent that a malevolent spirit is haunting Nicole’s house, the same home the two grew up in. Just who that spirit is and why they collected Nicole and are now after Annie remains a mystery that must be solved.
There is never a doubt to McCarthy’s talents when examining the framing of the film. If he is to be further applauded it would be because in a world of “jumps†and quick cuts, he makes certain to take his time and to never go for the cheap scare. Pacing the film with the camera, the director lets the technology create the sense of tension for us. Whether its with a slow dolly shot or tight close up, we are inside of that house and it’s arguably not the place that we want to be.
Assisted by Lotz’s strong characterization of a sister scorned by family, but equally determined to find a way to make it all work, The Pact does it’s best to steer it’s path towards what some might qualify as elevated genre. It’s only here when the film reaches for a high shelf that it fails miserably. In real estate they tell you it’s location, location, location. In cinema too often they forget to tell you it’s story, story. story. As ours too greatly hinges upon the relationship between Annie and Nicole, we never get to know the former, nor the latter, let alone the relationship between the two thus never delivering on the most basic elements of character development.
Further complicating matters is an inherent but seemingly unintentional sense of humor. On several occasions the audience was left laughing aloud detracting from any added sense of grounding for this supernatural tale. When Annie first encounters her ghostly culprit her “unique†form or communication is a handmade ouija board and later still, the biggest laugh came when a villain paused to take a terrifying sip from a chilled Dr. Pepper.
What of Casper Van Dien, fabled star of Starship Troopers you ask? It’s never clear why he’s involved in the story, and by the time you’re recognizing him, it’s already moved on without him.
As addressed, The Pact is not without it’s stylistic merits, but as you sometimes learn with the evolution of a short film: style isn’t everything.
You might also like






