مأوى

A good movie, good acting, we must remember how low budget these horrors are when viewing. I think they did an awesome job. I would recommend. Just watch. Great preforming it is worth the watch.

The actors were good, but the story is too hard to follow, even for a Horror film enthusiast like myself. I watched this film intently, and only came away with a bunch of interesting scary visuals but no real story to speak of--several stories, possibly, but amalgamated they make no sense. Erin Marie Hogan is super easy on the eyes, I will add, with her athletic body from head to toe in just about every scene, and believable acting skills.

Troubled young lass Ellie (a fine and credible performance by Erin Maria Hogan) gains custody of her sweet niece Izzy (adorable Abigail Mary) after her unstable sister River (an excellent portrayal by Devanny Pinn) is institutionalized. Ellie moves into a haunted house with the specific intention of contacting the spirit of her deceased mother. However, Ellie winds up conjuring up the lethal ghost of a notorious serial killer instead. Writer/director Kyle Mecca relates the absorbing story at a gradual pace, takes time to develop the characters, and expertly crafts a subtle and understated, yet still creepy and unsettling atmosphere. Moreover, Mecca brings a refreshing warmth and depth to the main characters while Ellie's obsessive need for closure gives this picture a considerable amount of real heart and poignancy. Fattie King is genuinely scary as the scrawny ghost of the serial killer. In addition, there are praiseworthy supporting contributions from Mu-Shaka Benson as Ellie's concerned nice guy husband Gavin, Phil Brown as friendly psychiatrist Dr. Brown and Alexandra Merrit Matthews as perky real estate agent Marcy. An on the money chiller.

First off. This movie has some genuinely creepy scenes done almost perfectly right. And that's about all. The actors are not particularly believable in their roles ; the husband or boyfriend or whatever has more connection and displays more affection to the niece than the aunt who is actually blood related. In fact, the aunt doesn't seem to really interact with the niece at all. We're expected to believe they are a couple but they don't kiss, Hold hands or touch hug or playfully banter. In fact it took me and the wife a small bit to figure out they were a couple. The plot is elusive and nothing helps you want to grasp it. There's a room in a house they move in to, the door is blocked by something. The boyfriend husband person gets the door open only to find out there's a armoire that was blocking the door. No one is put off by how it got there as the room has only one entrance. Inside the room is a mirror that's been painted over with black paint. What does the couple do? Leave the mirror and turn it into the nieces room. No one is put off by the black mirror in this little girls room just sitting there being all malicious and foreboding and crap. That's the basic tone for the whole movie. Oh, and I'd like to point out that the mother of the niece is mentally ill. This is depicted by her hospital gown, that she always wears. Always. Not by the fact that she's in an asylum. >_> Throw a qualified writer, good actors (not even great, just good), a better director at this thing and you can turn this c movie into an a plus theatrical release.

Growing up Ellie (Erin Marie Hogan) and her sister River (Devanny Pinn) would see a creature, one that eventually would take their mother's life (Josie DiVincenzo). 16 years later Ellie wants closure with her mother and wants to contact her....so she purchases the Amara House which is known to be haunted. Along with her is her husband Gavin (Mu-Shaka Benson) and niece Izzy (Abigail Mary) who has her mother's gift of second sight. River is institutionalized. The character introduction was light. The Amara house was briefly introduced thru a newspaper clipping during the credits and not by any single act which would have been better. I didn't like the piano sound track, but loved it when they played the drums. The drama scene in the bedroom between our couple was a flop. Everything in the film has been done before, so for seasoned horror film watchers this may be a yawn...the secret room, the mirror, the doll, the little girl. Ellie reads her packed away occult book for what seemed like the first time. Izzy was okay as the little girl and might be outstanding with the right coaching. The film wasn't bad, but definitely needing some tweaking and a couple of more scenes. Guide: no swearing sex or nudity.

With a plot and setting that is far from original, "Dwelling" is able to inject a healthy dose of creepiness that makes up for most, but not all, of its flaws. Mostly devoid of gore and jump scares, this film relies heavily on suspense and glimpses of terror. Those solely looking for gruesomeness will be sorely disappointed, but fans of the supernatural should find enough scares to make this worth a watch. I'll even give the film some credit for having more depth than most in the horror genre. Now for the bad: the dialogue could not have been worse. I'm not convinced that the acting was all that bad, but the script left quite a bit to be desired. Plus, there were a few head scratching plot points that undoubtedly detracted from the film. Despite the flaws, of which there were plenty, the evil did just enough to overcome and earn a respectable score. 6.5/10

Low budget, slow go of a movie. Acting was terrible. Horror movie? Physiological thriller with a couple "scares" thrown in is a more suitable description. I suppose it was a nice try but falls well short of being good.