Fairly good film, but a MUST for Sophia fans

Genuinely surprising plot twists all the way through and universally solid acting makes this a fascinating thriller. The eerie emptiness of the location adds to the suspense. I'm only an indifferent watcher of thriller movies, and yet even I enjoyed the suspense aspect of it. If you are a bona fide aficionado of the thriller genre, you'll love it. The "scare" moments are honestly unsettling, not contrived.

But I'll bet that more than a few people will watch this movie just because Sophia Myles is in it, and they won't be disappointed. Sophia is in almost every scene, and she's filmed beautifully -- lovingly even. She wears her hair longer here, and consequently she looks even more gorgeous than usual. There's no annoying digital grading or colour filtering, so you see her peaches-and-cream complexion in all of its exquisite fairness. As a special treat, there are many tight close-ups showing her soft facial features. There's even a shower scene (a very modest one) that will send hearts fluttering.

Sophia is probably the loveliest actress working today, thanks in no small part to the fact that she actually has a luscious figure, and isn't some skeletal waif. She looks particularly curvy in this film. Her facial features appear full and Rubenesquely angelic-looking.

As for acting, this is an especially accomplished performance by Sophia, who plays the part with the right amount of vulnerability seasoned with a dash of resolve. She's a damsel in distress, soft and needy, but not frail -- a perfect key to act in.

Incidentally, it's fascinating to see how often themes in Sophia's films recur. For example, in this movie she is an artist's muse, and a painting of a semi-nude, bare-backed Sophia figures prominently in the plot. And only a few years after this film was made, Sophie would once again play an artist's model -- in "Art School Confidential," where a painting of Sophia once again figures prominently.

And no wonder: she simply has the kind of timeless beauty that begs to be immortalized in art, and lends itself to these ingenue roles.