Wrong actor choice for Cat...

Although the film's version of the story was very loosely based on the true story and the severity of Beth Thomas' then-condition, I still found this film well done in itself.

Except for the leading girl.

Peldon was mostly ok, very natural at most points. I got creeps at the scene in which she came on to her grandpa. Good heavens that was a disturbing scnene. (Though nowhere nearly as disturbing as the gray-scale flashbacs to her birth father.)

But she couldn't pull off the raging convincingly. Nor the crying. Although it was a bit better done than her raging. I think lack at those is a major flaw in a role like this. Because rage and pain are the emotions the character needs to come off the most genuine with. But Peldon's raging and crying sounded like acting.

She was like Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick as Damien Thorn in The Omen (2006), in the scene where Damien's parents are driving the child to church and he's supposed to utterly frek out, screaming in utter fear and panic. Seamus' portayal sounded clearly fake. Maybe Peldon wasn't quite as fake-sounding as Seamus but too much so anyway.

Harvey Stephens, for one, proves that age is not the key to emotion-portrayal success with child actors. It's the talent of the child. Harvey portrayed Damien Thorn in the original The Omen (1979), was only 5-years old at the time of filming, and portrayed that moment as if he really was scared for his life. Seamus was 7 or 8 years old when he failed in doing so.

All I'm saying is that I don't think Ashley Peldon was made for this kind of role. It seems she's a fine actor as long as she doesn't have to portray powerful emotions. In those she turns from the character into its actor. And that's never good. Of course that was then, she may and likely has improved during growing up.

Again, please remark I'm not saying she's a bad actor. She's not. I'm just giving critique about a part of her talent that at the time needed much improving, to fit a role like Cat. And therefor, in my opinion, someone else should've been cast as Cat for this film.