a very good scary film

It's hard for hollywood to make an actual scary film. Most of the time they go over the top and just make disturbing gore, or just rip off other scary things and make it a dull sit. I know this film is a remake and is a departure from the original gothic atmosphere, but I really like what was done here.

Their were a number of scenes that really stood out to me as actually scary. You knew right away the ghosts of this asylum weren't playing around and wanted everyone dead immediately. The scene with the camera in the empty operating room I rank as one of the scariest moments in horror. Even worse is that you don't know what was specifically done to her or how her body was taken. Your mind is left to fill in these blanks and makes her fate much worse than what you're given a glimpse of.

The jittery clipping effect of the ghosts when they move was extremely unnerving, especially when their faces start spasming uncontrollably. Very eerie to look at. The mad Doctor of the asylum was an effective villain, since from what little you saw of him you knew he was methodical as he was brutal. Their was no elaborate reason of why he is doing this, only that he is pure evil. I find the more you flesh out a killer on why he kills and bring logic into his crimes loses any impact he has. The less you know the better.

Their was also the ghost fog. Now, I know a lot of people hated this...believe me I get it. It is a rather incredulous looking thing that sticks out like a sore thumb. I think if it was done with more practical effects it wouldn't have been so jarring. However, I still contest that this thing was scary. It was like a plague given form, the damned souls bound so tightly together in this place they had become one. Ghosts are often seen as dark shadowy looking presences, so having a large mass made up of the anguished spirits of the house made for a good visual to bring to life. I feel that this was a better option than having Dr Vannacutt chase after them like a slasher villain.