2 out of 5

Director: Bryan Bertino

While this is probably worth more than two stars, I have to balance the rating on the incredibly disappointing discrepancy between beginning and end. The trailer, if youve seen it, shows the story: a couple in an isolated cabin are terrorized, for unknown reasons, by masked assailants. What this film did right it did well for the first 40 minutes or so, allowing silence and some wayward dialogue to build a sense of the characters. Many horror films attempt this, but often for shorter amounts of time and with more obvious plot setups in the dialogue. But first-time writer/director Bryan Bertino keeps it pretty realistic and naturally paced, showing just enough the of the couple to give an idea of who they are without rubbing it in the viewers face. Everything is kept minimal an unobtrusive in the opening, and this makes it very gripping as a setup… …except for the unsteady camera, which I understand was probably used to be intimate, but was actually distracting during these scenes. Anyhow, once the attacks start, the first couple scares are done very well but it soon dissolves into tedium, and way too much I just saw them and now theyre not there! When the POV breaks from the main characters, it begins the downward spiral of the movie into fast-forward territory, as it drops any further plotting in favor of having the attackers zoom around the house preventing escape with unrealistic ease and quiet. Respectable for being downbeat and a first effort, but boring by-the-book payoff for a well done setup.