I Will Follow You Into The Dark - Mini Review

 This is a dark, horror movie with a dash of romance.  It is very reminiscent of the 1998 movie "What Dreams May Come".

  Mischa Barton plays a woman questioning her faith in religion, after enduring a tragedy.  She starts experiencing some strange phenomena in her life. Someone she cares about disappears and evidence seems to indicate he went, willing or otherwise, to the top floor of his apartment building.  The only problem with that, is the building used to be a mental hospital and the top floor is an abandoned, haunted hellhole.  After the police don't believe her, she and three friends must brave the eerie hallways to try to find him.

  The movie is very slow paced, during its almost two hour length.   The first part of the movie is the build up to the horror-filled second half. 

  The acting is good, and in a rare feat for a horror movie, the characters are actually intelligent.  They don't foolishly do stupid things, to create further plot complications due to lazy writing.  The story was interesting and unpredictable.  The movie doesn't dumb itself down to explain things to the viewer.      

  Where the movie shines is in its build up of the horror on the top floor and the creepy atmosphere / cinematography
of those hallways.  Once the four characters get off the elevator to start the search, the dread in the air and the danger they face is apparent and equally felt by anyone watching the movie.  These are the qualities that really make a good horror movie.

  While very well done, the movie is not perfect.  At times it gets a little too crazy.   It also might not be for people with attention deficit disorder.  I would give it 4 out of 5 stars.

Mischa Barton and Walmart

In this age where retail stores are now rarely stocking independent horror dvds and blu-rays, we horror fans have an unlikely ally, Walmart.  Walmart is one of the last brick and mortar stores that still stocks independent horror movies and at a bargain to boot!  Many of the dvds that Amazon list at over $20, Walmart sells for $10 to $15.  They typically get around 3 new titles a week.

  I have been a fan of Mischa Barton since the great movie, Lawn Dogs.  I guess she was eleven years old when she did that film.  Lately, she has been doing a lot of independent horror/thrillers that have gone straight to DVD.  She has done Cyberstalker, A Ressurection, Apartment 1303, and the recently released, I Will Follow You Into The Dark.  Of these, I have only watched Apartment 1303.  That movie had its moments, but was overall disappointing.

What does Mischa Barton have to do with Walmart?  Every single one of her recent DVD movies has been released at Walmart for $9.99.  As far as I can tell, all these DVDs are from different companies/distributors.  That is quite a coincidence since, even though Walmart stocks about three new horror titles a week, most new horror DVDs never see the light of day on a Walmart shelf.  Does the person who decides what DVDs to stock at Walmart have a crush on Mischa?  Does Mischa have a side job at Walmart in the DVD purchasing department?  A mystery is afoot!