Search - Spectres on DVD

A confused, muddled, poorly written mess

PingTingTing | 03/23/2006

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Did you ever watch a movie where it's so evident that everyone involved is trying their darndest to make it a winner, but it's a lost cause? That would sum up "Spectres", a low-budget film that plays out like a Lifetime Television take on a supernatural thriller. The plot revolves around a mother (Star Trek the Next Generation's Marina Sirtis) and her daughter, and the strange events that plague them after a retreat to a summer home for an extended vacation.

What unfolds seems to revolve around the young daughter's suicide attempt and some convoluted mess wherein a single soul shared by a variety of dead souls enters her body while at the same time causing paranormal activity in the house? I end that with a question mark because I just didn't get it, and I'm not stupid. It's just poorly written.

The problems with this movie all walk hand-in-hand to form a disaster. The script is a complete nightmare, with every mother-daughter cliche only exacerbated by Sirtis' desperate attempt to make their interactions seem genuine. They don't, and it's not for want of talent on her part.

The movie can't decide what it wants to be, and it does a poor job of blending genres. You know how sometimes you're with your friends and you say "I have this great idea!" This is what would happen if someone made the poor choice of turning it into an actual film. It reads like the writer said "Wouldn't it be cool if..."

Watching the bonus making of featurette on the DVD is almost painful because everyone is SO into what they're doing - the director uses the word "Compelling" about a thousand times - it's so sad how horrible it turned out.

In short, it just misses the mark on every level. It isn't scary, or even slightly creepy. It isn't emotionally moving. It just isn't anything at all."