After leaving the Doctor Strange sequel due to creative differences, adapting Joe Hill's 2004 very short story of same name became a very personal project for Scott Derrickson.
Mason Thames - Finney
Madeleine McGraw - Gwen
Jeremy Davies - Terrence
James Ransone - Max
E. Roger Mitchell - Det. Wright
Troy Rudeseal - Det. Miller
Miguel Cazarez Mora - Robin
Ethan Hawke - The Grabber
Summary
In 1978, the suburban town of North Denver is terrorised by serial killer The Grabber, who after abducting children in broad daylight, leaves calling card of black balloons at the scene.
Bullied teenager Finney is tricked by part-time magician and taken to a soundproof basement where nobody can hear him scream.
When a disconnected phone starts ringing, ghosts of kidnapper's previous victims give wee lad advice on how to prevent him going the same way.
Naughty Boy
This doesn't reach the giddy heights of Sinister, but nostalgic horror is still an impressive piece of film-making.
Even though Hawke tends to avoid villainous roles, you can tell he's having an absolute blast.
From the off, Thames is always the underdog, but fights back with admirable gusto.
Vulnerable, foul-mouthed and feisty, McGraw also deserves praise.
Screenplay is perfectly adequate and Mark Korven's score doesn't disappoint.
The interesting aspect is Gwen seeing glimpses of abductions in her dreams, but abusive father Terrence discourages using clairvoyance to help Finney because he believes late wife possessing similar abilities led her to commit suicide.
Jump scares can be effective and there's enough blood to satisfy gorehounds.
Apart from some very obvious nods to Stephen King, I noted additional titbits.
Title sequence has Seven written all over it.
Tom Savini's interchangeable mask bears a resemblance to Lon Chaney portraying The Man in the Beaver Hat in London After Midnight.
Principle of antagonist bundling Finney into his van smacks of Buffalo Bill doing the same to Catherine Martin in The Silence of the Lambs.
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