THE PACT (2012)

[indianasmith]

This was a neat little horror movie from IFC studios (I have changed my mind about IFC to this extent: their horror films are frequently darned good.  Still hate the channel.) that I watched Sunday afternoon.  It is a combination horror movie and ghost story that shows you enough to be deeply unsettling while at the same time not holding your hand and explaining everything.  The set up goes like this:

A young lady named Nicole is at her recently deceased mother's house, making funeral arrangements, and trying to get her twin sister Annie to come and help her.  She is on Skype with her four year old, who is being watched by a cousin, when she loses contact and simply vanishes.  Her sister shows up and attends the funeral; becaue Nicole had a drug problem in the past, she is convinced that the stress of their mom's death simply sent her off on a bender and she will be back soon.  Anne invites her cousin and niece to spend the night at her mom's home with her, hoping Nicole will return.  Instead weired supernatural stuff starts happening, and the cousin (Liz) also disappears.  She grabs her niece and reports the incident to the police, but they are skeptical.

  The paranormal incidents accelerate, driving Annie to seek other forms of help to find out what happened in the house . . . and what still may lurk there.

  Great little film!  Spare and gripping, with kind of a late 70's feel to it in places, if you like ghost stories with a bit of a twist, you'll love this one.