This is one of those classic-style ghost stories like The Others or Woman In Black. It has what you would expect and desire from such a tale: an eerie setting (a school), a creepy ghost child with a blurry face and a tangled mystery. Rebecca Hall plays a respected educated woman who proves ghosts are hoaxes. She's written a book on the truth about ghosts and yet a part of her would like to believe. She's invited by a school teacher to investigate a ghost at the school he teaches. Her job is simply to prove the ghost is actually one of the boys playing a practical joke, a joke that had gone horrible wrong after a student died recently. What turns out to be a simple investigation soon becomes a dark journey into her own heart. Less a scary film and more an artistic period drama, it's certainly one of the better classic ghost stories put to film in awhile. I really enjoyed seeing the mystery unravel and while a bit of a stretch it's quite satisfying. Grade: B+
Spoiler Alert: This has one of those "open to interruption" endings that is supposed to get the audience talking afterward. It's not at all as successful as Nolan's Inception but I didn't hate it. Still I kind of wish the film makers would have just let us know if she's a ghost at the end or not. I think she's alive but leaving it open kind of tainted the end. I hope a lady-and-the-tiger syndrome doesn't become the next big trend.
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