Horror Movie: The Pact (2012)

I love horror movies.

Not torture or gore flicks, which aren't scary just gross and distasteful.  

Slashers I tolerate, but the ones done well are horror.  The others?  Just an excuse to have a pile of teenagers chopped up by some ski mask wearing villain.

A good horror movie gets you feeling all creepy, screaming in the back of your mind at the main character not to open that door, not to get out that Ouija board, to run and run and never look back.

When someone suggests using the Ouija in a haunted house?  Dont.
Its Dumb Move #1 in most horror movies and only leads to bad things happening.

The Pact is just such a movie.  Or at least it was for me. 

The story is about Annie (played by Caity Lotz) whose Mother has recently passed away.

From the outset it is clear that Annie doesnt have a close relationship with either her mother or her sister.  She is around only for the funeral, and then only because her sister tells her that she needs her there.

When her sister disappears before the funeral Annie isnt surprised - and we learn that the sister was a drug addict and has only turned her life around due to her daughter.  A daughter she has left behind which is the only thing that leaves Annie wondering what happened to her.

From there things go down hill as the ghost torments Annie and she tries to find out what the ghost wants and where her sister is.

This includes an investigation into a serial killer, finding a hidden room in her house (that she grew up in but doesnt know its there.  WTF?  Freaky), and a creepy old school friend who can communicate with ghosts.

The character of Annie is one that drew me in fairly quickly.  She is real enough, and brave enough, that you identify with her - not a screamer she instead runs or grabs a weapon when afraid which makes her much more real than the typical horror movie heroine.  At her most scared you see her run to her motorbike to run away for good and only the fact that her niece needs her keeps her there.

Caity Lotz plays Annie in The Pact.
Annie doesnt scream and run all the time, she seems to prefer to get armed when scared.
Also is hot.

Ultimately the movie does tense buildups well and manages to leave you feeling really like something bad is about to happen throughout, has some interesting twists (which tie in completely with the plot and aren't just there to be smart) and does very well for what was clearly an indie film budget.

Not sure I would have gone to the movies to see it, but for a late night watching while its stormy outside with my wife?  

It made me want to leave the lights on down the hallway when I went to bed.