The Apparition (2012)
Directed by Todd Lincoln
Plagued by frightening occurrences in their home, Kelly and Ben learn that a university's parapsychology experiment produced an entity that is now haunting them. The malevolent spirit feeds on fear and torments the couple no matter where they run. Desperate, Kelly and Ben turn to a paranormal researcher, but even with his aid, it may already be too late to save themselves from the terrifying presence.
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What critics compared The Apparition to
Think here of "Poltergeist" but without any of the fun.
H The desert subdivision setting is the only interesting aspect of this wan riff on "Poltergeist" and "Paranormal Activity," minus the former's Spielbergian spectacle and the latter's "found footage" conceit.
But it's not tense--especially when Lincoln does a dog reaction shot and then a few long takes of the type that work in movies by Beat Takeshi and, okay, Ozu, but don't really do shit in a Poltergeist rip-off sans children or Spielberg's sense of suburbia on the ropes.
Todd Lincoln's tepid feature debut borrows from some horror standouts of the last 15 years, such as The Blair Witch Project, The Ring, The Grudge, and Paranormal Activity, and some earlier classics, like Poltergeist and The Amityville Horror, but doesn't offer anything new, let alone entertaining.
Like the Paranormal Activity films and their cinematic ancestor Poltergeist, The Apparition takes place in what may be the least naturally atmospheric setting out there — suburban California.
Nods to better films (Poltergeist, Flatliners) and borderline better films (the Paranormal Activity franchise and its crapshoot offspring) do little to burnish Lincoln's horror credentials.
Ashley Greene, best known as friendly vampire Alice in the " Twilight " films, gets the lead here as Kelly.
Nothing is dark and disorienting about the bright sunshine of the Southern California community that’s home to Kelly (Ashley Greene, from the “Twilight” movies) and Ben (Sebastian Stan, from “Gossip Girl”).
You’d think a specter from another dimension would have better things to do than relocate furniture and open garage doors without a remote, but here we are—again—as a vapid couple (Sebastian Stan and Twilight’s Ashley Greene) are taunted by a demon who enjoys making the soap insta-moldy after the heroine disrobes for a PG-13 shower.
Greene, best known for her role in the Twilight saga, is never called on to do much else than look good in various states of dress and undress.
The movie focuses on a boyfriend/girlfriend couple (the latter is played by Ashley Greene from the Twilight movies), and they're shown sleeping in the same bed and walking around in their underwear.
In the opening scenes, the two bland, charmless leads, Ben and Kelly (Sebastian Stan from "Gossip Girl" and Ashley Greene from " Twilight "), struggle to establish their relationship via strained small talk about what to have for lunch.