Haunter (2013)

2013
Directed by Vincenzo Natali
Starring Abigail Breslin, Peter Outerbridge, Michelle Nolden, Stephen McHattie and Samantha Weinstein

The hot streak is over. 

Released in 2013, Haunter was one of those movies that executives had no idea how to market or, for lack of a better term, push.  It's not your typical haunted house movie, but at the same time, I can't blame executives for not seeing the commercial appeal in the premise of a movie where your star (in this case, the super-talented Abigail Breslin) plays a ghost creeped out by the spirits of the LIVING, or some such metaphysical mindf**k.  Thus...it was limited theatrical run followed by the virtual shelves of Netflix time.  Having just sat through this flick, I can report that it's middling at best and drags at its worst.  While that premise certainly is intriguing, it's definitely not enough to sustain 97 minutes.  On with the story.

The flick starts off as kind of this very strange version of Groundhog Day, with Abigail Breslin in the Bill Murray role.  That's gotta be the only time in the history of cinema that this particular sentence could be typed.  Breslin (as always, likable to the core) is Lisa Johnson, punkish 15-year-old one day shy of celebrating her birthday who goes through the same routine every day with her family.  Unfortunately, the people playing said family aren't quite as engaging.  The actors do a decent enough job with their tropes, and the quirky kid brother who loves Pac-Man (tip #1 as to the flick's twist) is only moderately annoying, but the characters themselves are milquetoast to the core.  I don't know, maybe I just wasn't in the mood for family haunted house hour.

The creepy in Haunter comes from Lisa's gradual discovery as to her predicament.  After being scared by a few loud noises and voices calling her name in the middle of the night, she begins investigating the house more in-depth.  She finds a door behind the washing machine that alays seems to close by itself and wanders inside.  If only Mr. Tumnus could have been contained within that door.  Her investigations seem to have a strange effect on the other members of the household, as her father (Peter Outerbridge) sudenly turns very abrasive and abusive.  The daily routine changes, and then a disquieting phone repairman shows up at the door.

Played by Stephen McHattie (a.k.a. the psychologist who realized that Crazy Joe DaVola didn't have his medication), this dude is essentially your star villain.  A vicious serial killer in life, he managed to keep that ability beyond death and remains an evil entity who has the ability to trap the souls of those who died there.  Somehow.  The physics of this situation are a little foggy to me, just like most of what is to come.  Try to stay with me.

See, McHattie is after the family that currently lives in the house.  He accomplishes his post-death kills by possessing the father and icing the rest of the residents (this is what happened with Lisa and her family, natch).  And this is where the movie turns pretty baffling, as Lisa goes through all of these hoops, tunnels, and strange journeys to contact the house's living teenage daughter and convince the souls of everyone else that McHattie has killed to "wake up" in some sort of effort to escape the prison that he has concocted for them.  Because this guy has magical powers that rival anything Mr. Mxyzptlk has to offer.  Again, the whole thing is pretty foggy, and the climax doesn't exactly come off as emotionally cathartic as it should. 

Mainly because I had stopped caring.  If you get the impression that this movie was a little boring, you're right, hence why I tried to burn through this review in as short amount of time as possible.  There are virtually no scares to speak of, the characters (aside from Breslin's Lisa) are incredibly "just there," and the emotional investment factor is virtually nonexistant.  I can commend screenwriter Steve Hoban for trying something different with the haunted house formula, but the execution is just sloppy as all hell. 

* 1/2 out of ****.  Way too many alternating timelines and "WTF" moments contained for any sustained level of enjoyment.  Avoid this one.