Brief review: "The Chair"

Distributor: Lionsgate



A low-key psychological horror film, The Chair is a decent way to spend 88 minutes.

Danielle, or "Dani" as every other character in the movie calls her, is a bright, blond, and beautiful college student majoring in Psychology. She has just moved into an old Victorian house in the 'burbs to help her recover. From what, we are never told. She is supposed to take pills for...something. Again, what she takes them for is never divulged. Just guessing that it has to do with whatever it is she's trying to recover from. Anyhow, it isn't long before strange things start happening in the house; from kitchen utensils moving on their own to chairs floating in the air, this isn't your ordinary house. Sensing this, Dani does some web surfing on the house and finds out that it used to be the home of a famous "mesmerizer" Mordechai Zymytryk, who had conducted experiments on a serial killer named Edgar Crowe. Crowe's spirit has been trapped in the house and is now haunting Dani. It gets worse. Dani starts exhibiting traits of said serial killer. Could he have possessed our poor college coed?

Let's get the bad stuff out of the way first. The acting is definitely nothing to write home about, ranging from horrible (unfortunately, Alanna Chisholm, Dani, is in this category) to just barely passable. The film has some pacing issues as it takes its sweet time getting going. The rapid jump cuts present every so often as scene transitions are also an unnecessary annoyance.

All that said, the film as a whole, makes for an entertaining watch. The mystery that develops (once the film finally introduces it) is quite different and surprisingly elegant in its execution. This is definitely not a balls-to-the-wall gory horror show. There is very little blood. Instead, director Brett Sullivan relies on an increasingly foreboding atmosphere to do the heavy lifting in drawing in the viewer and it works. It is likely to shock you somewhat when you realize that what started out as an indifferently-executed film has got you glued to your seat as the film crosses the midway point and heads toward a satisfying conclusion.

Don't sit in this Chair unless you are prepared for a moody descent into psychological terror.