The Skeptic

This was the worst I've seen in a long time. How Tim daly gets work is beyond me. Tom Arnold looks like crap totally duh messed up. He even seemed high on camera. And shock horror the ahura chick from Star Trek was so annoying in her role I was stunned that it was her. 2 frights you get out of this crap fest. Shelf this rubbish.

Some reviews express disappointment about the ending of this movie; I disagree. This is without a doubt a ghost story, but it also explores human emotion about traumatic events. It's not run of the mill. It was a refreshing change from the usual shock horror type movie about ghosts. I don't know why people can't understand the ending, it's quite simple, his mother wanted him to have the house so she could find forgiveness for her abuses. The sunny picnic expresses this. If you want the usual type of haunting movie then the ending would be disappointing but I think it was a very suitable conclusion for this movie, it all made sense in the end, there were no clichéd fright scenes and the ending did not have the usual shock then an attempt to procure a sequel. Just a simple reason for the haunting in the first place. I really enjoyed this movie, it's not a blockbuster, but much better than Paranormal Activity which does not come to any conclusions about why the haunting took place, I'll bet there is a sequel to that movie. The Skeptic stands on it's own as a complete work beginning, middle and end. Sweet.

As this movie was all lead-up and no end, I'll aim to restore the cosmic balance by making this review essentially all end with no real lead-up. NOTE: this review is, in it's entirety, nothing but one big spoiler. The ending: I have no problem with the ambiguity of never truly knowing whether or not everything was in the main character's mind. Almost any story well-told involving an ambiguous ending is essentially a story that's relating a tale about a situation in which "no one was certain about which was true, thus, it remained somewhat of a mystery." It's interesting to present situations about individuals or perhaps societies involved being conflicted over the nature of truth or of their reality. (I give a pass to "The Sopranos" which was a story about "the nature of these people" thus an event-oriented conclusion being arguably less of the point. And I stress "arguably.") HOWEVER... being unclear about whether or not the final scene was actually portraying Tim Daly's character as dead versus in an unconscious haze is just plain sloppy film-making. It's not like part of the mystery was that no one in the story's scenario would ever know if the stair fall killed him or not. Either he was still alive and thus interacted with people at some point after the fall, or his body was found and a funeral was held. Just leaving that part unclear merely leaves the audience in the dark over the actual context of what the final scene was even referring to, something that would've been mundanely clear to everyone within the context of the story itself. Again, either they had a funeral for him after his body was found or they simply talked to him the next day at work. In lieu of this clarification, the film is essentially saying, "And after he fell down the stairs, it would forever remain a mystery from that day forward to all those he knew as to whether he died in the fall, or in fact, survived and saw many of them at work the next day." Clearly, this makes no sense within any context of telling a story. Thus, the presentation of this film isn't a case of telling a story with an ambiguous, mysterious finale. This is simply a case of starting to tell a story without bothering to fully go through the process of telling it. Why bother then? Either finish the assignment or spare wasting our time and don't turn it in. An even bigger shame since the premise was engaging and the acting very good.

TIM DALY stars as a skeptical lawyer with no belief in the supernatural who moves into the house of a deceased aunt when his marriage breaks up. He soon believes that he's not alone in the creepy mansion and begins to doubt his sanity after some encounters of a ghostly kind that might just be happening in his head. Before he knows it, he's getting assistance from a woman psychic (ZOE SALDANA) who tells him the house holds a grim secret. Gradually, we discover that the key to the haunting lies in his past, when he was subjected to harsh treatment at the age of five from a mother whose punishment makes "Mommie Dearest" look like "Snow White." So far, so good. There are some nice shivery moments but we keep hoping for our hero to see the light and discover just what is going on. It takes a little too long to reach that conclusion and when it does, the ending is an unsatisfying letdown that leaves you jolted just as the end credits begin to unfold. That's it? Yes, an ambiguous and terribly disappointing and empty stone wall conclusion that provides more questions than answers. Most viewers will feel cheated by the ending, after a fairly good case of goose pimples from a low key, rather tepid ghost story. In the central role of the lawyer, Tim Daly proves almost as adept at drama as he was in comedy roles. TOM ARNOLD, as a sympathetic colleague, has little to do but bark his lines in snappy fashion.

For those of you that caught Tim Daly in the NBC hit Wings or in his role as the leader of the Branch Davidians in the made for TV movie of the week; do yourself a favor with your hour and twenty minutes of free time.... SKIP THIS PIECE OF HORSE BLEEP. Tom Arnold and the chick from Avatar are the lone bright spots in this horrible production. IFC should've never green lit this film. But of course if you are into predictable plot lines and shaky dialogue, then by all means this is the film for you. It also casts the guy from Richie Rich (they same dude that was the Dad in Gilmore Girls) yeah that guy as some Doctor who does stuff but doesn't reveal to Daly about other stuff and well you get the point. SKIP IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm not going to add much to whats already been said except that the ending (for me) wasn't that vague. Christopher Armstead (Film Critics United) said this; "The final scene shows Bryan either dead or unconscious, once again a little boy, going to a sunny picnic with his mother. Either the mother's ghost is trying to atone for past sins or Bryan's subconscious is creating the mother he always wanted with choice two being the logical conclusion for me". I tend to lean toward the first choice. Thru death his mother has taken him back to the time he should have been the happiest and released him from all the turmoil and inhibitions the horrible experiences of his childhood placed on his life; albeit, he had to (die?) to get there. It is a ghost story after all.

A lawyer's aunt dies and he inherits her house, which she believed to be haunted. He decides to stay there while separated from his wife, and why shouldn't he? After all, he's a die-hard skeptic. This is a very low-key haunted house tale. I'd say it works more as a mystery than outright horror, though it's all fairly straightforward. While the old house is an atmospheric setting, the film is devoid of any chilling moments. Well, I take that back. There is one good scare, but it turns out to be a false one, no threat. The atmosphere of the house is there, it's just that the filmmakers fail to utilize it to any sizable extent. I also felt that the ending was too abrupt. I don't mind abrupt endings, but this one really pushed it. Tim Daly is okay as the "unemotional" lead. Not really a likable sort, I'd say. Tom Arnold is here too, but his part is basically a nothing role. It's Zoe Saldana who steals the show as a high-strung, yet appealing psychic. She could go on to greater things, and no, I absolutely do not consider Avatar a greater thing. The Skeptic isn't bad, but it's nothing too memorable. I do admire it for attempting a quiet, more intimate ghost story in this day of obnoxious, in your face haunting flicks.

This one was interesting until the company apparently ran out of money and had to rush the ending. You knew something was wrong when the protagonist's para-normal friend couldn't make it on the fatal night. Then his shrink tells him he was locked in a closet on the day of his mother's "accident." This revelation, we are told, emerged because the protagonist was in a 'crisis stage.' Then he says I'm going to a hotel, but first I'm going back to get my things. The shrink says, good idea! Come on -- the writers are getting desperate. Then the para-normal friend's black car is parked outside. But it isn't! That defies credulity and consistency. And so -- the ending. The finale, which has been discussed, is clearly a final wish-fulfillment, the long-held wish from the five year old for the idyllic picnic he was denied so many years before. Other problems -- the doll. Why? Why not the roller-skate (or whatever it was) that propelled Mama down those stairs? And -- what was the protagonist's mental state? Did he finally/gradually go crazy? His development was not well charted. But, basically, the rushed ending defeated a promising film.

When the forty year old skeptical lawyer Bryan Becket (Timothy Daly) receives a phone call late night, he is informed that his distant aunt had just died and he can only think in the inheritance of her manor. Becket decides to leave his wife Robin Becket (Andrea Roth) and his son to live in the house while selling it and give an opportunity to Robin to rethink their relationship. However his partner Sully (Tom Arnold) advises him that his aunt had a will and the house would belong to the institute of technology managed by Dr. Warren Koven (Bruce Altman) that research sleeping disorders. Bryan visits Dr. Koven and meets his psychic patient Cassie (Zoe Saldanha). Sooner Bryan is haunted by whispers and voices and discovers that the unknown is more frightening than any reality. "The Skeptic" is a scary ghost story of haunted house that startles the viewer with creepy scenes. The beginning and development of the plot are excellent and Tim Daly performs a skeptical lawyer that feels lost when faces a paranormal activity in his aunt's house and is haunted by a mystery of his forgotten past. Unfortunately the conclusion is awful and spoils the story, giving the disappointing sensation that the budget had ended and the producer needed to finish the film anyway without any care to the characters or situation. My vote is six. Title (Brazil): "Herança Paranormal" ("Paranormal Inheritage")

I just watched this movie and all I can say is: I want my time and money back! Basically the movie drones on and comes to an abrupt ending leaving you irritated. This could have easily been a made-for-TV movie. Tim Daly is just okay (he should stick with comedy) and Tom Arnold's acting seems forced but the real problem is there is not much of a plot and the characters are very one dimensional. Ed Herrmann, who played Richard Gilmore on the popular CW TV show, The Gilmore Girls, is wasted as a well-meaning Psychiatrist. There are some tense and maybe scary scenes but there is no real "A-ha" moment at the end and you are just left with "what? That's it?".