Kylie Bucknell (Morgana O’Reilly) is sent to stay with her mum for six months under house arrest by the courts when she is caught attempting to steal from an ATM. Her mum Miriam (Rima Te Wiata) is well meaning and wants to try and make Kylie’s stay a good one. Kylie’s attitude is far from sociable however, which only makes the atmosphere in the house worse. Things begin to take a sinister turn when Kylie begins to hear strange noises in the house. Not only that, but things are going missing and Kylie’s mum thinks the house may be haunted.

With the help her probation officer and amateur paranormal investigator, Amos (Glen-Paul Waru), they discover that the house used to be a hostel for mentally disturbed people, and that someone was murdered there years ago. Believing the source of the noises to be a malevolent spirit Kylie and Amos seek to remove it, however the truth it would seem is far stranger.

Really to say any more would spoil the gem of a double twist this movie has going on. I had heard a lot about this and I must say I was blown away by how good it was. It was without a doubt my film of 2014. The cast are all excellent in their respective roles, and the script is top notch. The characters themselves are all very well rounded and impeccably written. There is humour and warmth amongst the action and scares and it all makes for a stellar movie.

I want to be careful I don’t oversell this, but I just can’t help myself. It’s very rare now in the days of shitty reboots and remakes that we get something that on the face of it seems like well trodden ground, but instead delivers one of the freshest pieces of cinema in a long time. I think it’s safe to say you’ll like this.

5/5

JM