To this film's credit, it does at least try to do something different and tell a unique story. Here, we follow Ruth, a woman who was a part of the He Who Walks Behind the Rows worshipers, but turned her back on it after losing her family, friends, and boyfriend. Now, with a child of her own, she has spent her life fleeing.
It's a pretty good character and plot hook. The movie puts a good deal of emphasis on the trauma that haunts Ruth. Some of it works, such as scenes where kids will be standing around and she'll immediately associate it with the psychos she knew. Other times...not so much. The flashbacks are supposed to act as a form of character development, but mostly they just come off as filler and a pretense to add some gore and violence to remind you that, yes, this is a horror flick.
Even when people do start dying. The movie does so many fake-outs and "visions" that it can become hard to tell what's actually happened.
The characters themselves are also rather flat. A part of this is due to casting, but I think the script shares some blame as well. The romance between Ruth and her boss comes out of nowhere and the ensuing drama from the botch isn't all that compelling. Plot elements that could have been fleshed out (such as the rivalry between Ruth and the school principal) are also underdeveloped due to a lack of time.
Also, why on Earth would Ruth settle into a small, rural, midwestern town? You'd think she'd want to avoid those like the plague; go to a big city. Sure, it wouldn't stop the freaking demon that's chasing her down, but it still seems like it would make sense to stay as far away from corn and big, empty fields as humanly possible.
It isn't until the tail end of the movie that Marci Miller is actually given something to work with. You can see much more emotion there than you did in the first two thirds of the movie. It does make you appreciate it, but it would have been nice to see more of that throughout. It's frustrating as there is potential, the movie just doesn't seem to want to tap into it as much as it could have.
The movie does a decent job of creating some tension and atmosphere. Sara Moore has no lines, but still has a creepy air about her. The movie doesn't have her do anything that other "creepy kid" characters haven't done, but she still pulled it off.
The movie's theme, a soft music box style leitmotif also lends a lot of weight to things. It's simple and haunting...but also kind of sad? I thought it worked really well.
Other horror aspects fell flat. As noted, the reliance on flashbacks to provide some obligatory violence didn't work too well. The film's direction also had some odd decisions. The camera would cut away randomly for no apparent reason. There were also some aerial panning shots that served no purpose whatsoever and seemed shoved in there for the sake of having them.
The film really shines in its final act. Despite a lackluster start, the movie actually does kick into something resembling high gear and it feels like there are real stakes and some solid plot twists. I also have to give the movie credit for giving He Who Walks Behind the Rows some of his cred back. After so many movies, viewers likely wouldn't have been impressed. I won't spoil anything, but this gives him a good deal of his menace back.
The movie had potential to be better than it was. It definitely has its upsides. In some ways, though, that just makes the flaws and structural problems that much more vexing. Still, credit where it's due; it did try something different and it wasn't a total disaster like some of the movies that had come before it.
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