Directed by Alejandro Amenábar (The Others, The Sea Inside, Agora) and starring Emma Watson (Harry Potter...; Noah, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, The Bling Ring, Colonia), Ethan Hawke (Dead Poet's Society, Boyhood, Training Day, Assault on Precinct 13, Before Sunrise), David Thewlis (The Theory of Everything, Seven Years in Tibet, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, The Fifth Estate, Queen & Country) and David Dencik (The Absent One, Speed Walking, Serena).
Thriller, 107 mins, 16+
A suspense thriller set in a rural town in north-west USA where John Gray (David Dencik) is arrested and accused of satanic rituals and abusing his 17 year-old daughter Angela (Emma Watson) whose mother is dead and brother had left home. She now lives in an orphanage attached to the local Church and is cared for by the Reverend.
Detective Bruce Kenner (Ethan Hawke) is assigned to the case and, with the help of Professor Kenneth Raines (David Thewlis), a psychologist, is making little progress and turns to hypnotic regression theraphy through which pictures start to emerge. In addition to the father, one of the police officers is also implicated, along with the girl's grandmother. Detective Kenner tracks down Angela's brother, Roy, but again little headway is made in the investigation; he then turns to a FBI report on satanic witchcraft.
Even though Emma Watson plays the victim, the audience watches the film mainly through the perspective of the detective, where Ethan Hawke delivers a stirring performance of a character immersed in his work and trying to solve the complex case, where his professionalism and passion often conflict.
The drama is tense and riveting with the audience along for the ride, with visions from the hypnotic regression theraphy as clear as muddy water, as confusion and paranoia reign supreme. What emerges, though, is an interesting take on human nature and troubled minds in a dark psychological thriller that does not let go until the final scene.
