When Eveleigh (Isla Fischer) and her husband David (Anson Mount) look to start a new life after a tragic car accident, they end up getting a lot more than they bargained for. While their new venture starts off with much excitement, things start to fall apart for Eveleigh when she starts to experience strange visions. Both her husband and doctor (Jim Parsons) initially dismiss these as a form of PTSD following the accident combined with her heightened senses due to her being pregnant. However, as the visions become more intense, Eveleigh becomes convinced that there is some ghostly presence in the house and sets out to try and solve the mystery and hopefully return their lives to normal.
And what I have described above is pretty much a stock standard synopsis for many horror movies that have all been done before. Thankfully Visions offers something more with a crafty storyline by L.D Goffigan and Lucas Susan that ties everything together exceptionally well and even has a good dose of breathtaking scares along the way. It’s a film that is definitely rewarding if you’re willing to hold out for the story to conclude.
The film doesn’t start out that way though and from the beginning, it seems that Visions is going to be yet another derivative entry in an already overpopulated genre. The film does take a while to get going and while it throws in a couple of scares early on, it doesn’t really draw you into the mysteries or characters very well. However, as the visions get more intense for Eveleigh and the scares go up a notch, so too do the many different story elements start to come together – the whole explanation for what’s going on and how each of her visions are interrelated is cleverly thought out.
While most of the film’s most terrifying moments rely on jump scares rather than built-in tension, they are superbly executed by director Kevin Greutert and backed by a harrowing score by Anton Sanko. It’s the latter that is responsible for setting much of the film’s mood and while horror films always rely on their scores to induce tension, this one is rousing even in the film’s dramatic moments.
As for the rest of the elements of the movie, they are mostly solidly executed here. Fischer in particular centres the film and her character well, playing a wife that sincerely believes she is being haunted but portraying enough fear that she could also just be a few cork screws loose of an open wine bottle. The film needs her to be strong though as the rest of the cast is mostly forgettable. Mount’s role as her husband lacks emotion and you never feel any chemistry between the two. While you are not looking for a great acting performance from a horror film, for one that centres so heavily on the emotions of the lead couple you do expect there to be some spark there. The rest of the cast is not really around long enough to make their presence felt.
Outside of this, the only other flaw that I could find with Visions came in the film’s closing moments which I felt were a little rushed. The film doesn’t let you savour its well thought out plot when you finally figure it out and instead rushes to wrap everything up. The film is very short, clocking in at under 90 minutes and you can’t help but wonder if certain scenes could’ve played out a little longer to build on them. It is a minor thing from an otherwise very good horror film though and should not tempt you away from trying to watch it.
Visions is certainly not a horror classic and doesn’t do anything new with the genre, but with excellent execution and a clever plot, it does offer up some refreshing entertainment. If you consider that said refreshment might come in the form of an underwear change.
Last Updated: August 30, 2017
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Visions is not a horror classic and doesn’t do anything new with the genre, but with excellent execution and a clever plot, it does offer up some refreshing entertainment.
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