Young Eli (Charlie Shotwell) has strange disorder of his auto immune system that makes him allergic to pretty much everything - dust, air, and whatnot -, so much so that he has to sleep in a protective tent and can only go outside in a protective suit covering his whole body, including face. But finally, his parents (Kelly Reilly, Max Martini) have found Dr. Horn's (Lili Taylor) clinic, where she claims she can cure children with Eli's condition. Of course, Eli wants to get healthy, but the clinic freaks him out, especially since it seems to be haunted, something Dr. Horn blames on hallucinations caused by his treatment. Oh, and the treatment, it pretty much resembles torture, to the point where Eli is strapped to the operating table. In all this, Eli has only one friend Haley (Sadie Sink), a girl on the outside he can only speak through thick glass as the clinic is hermetically sealed off from the outside so no bacteria can come in. But everything Haley says makes Eli doubt that he will be cured here, as things point in a very different, much darker direction. Eventually, Eli breaks into Dr. Horn's office and looks up the files of former patients, to find out that none of them survived the treatment. Things take a turn yet darker when he finds out this isn't a clinic at all but a house of exorcism, and his parents have tricked him into coming here because - well, apparently he's the son of the Devil ... and I'm not sure how that explains his condition, but apparently he didn't have it at all (though previous events proved otherwise) and was only made believe he did. And now he's to be done away with. Thing is, now that he knows who he is, he all of a sudden also has ESP powers ...

There is some cleverness in this film, as it at first promises to be your typical haunted house movie, with all the scares and shocks firmly in place, and the unusual setting doing little to distracting genre conventions - quite the opposite, actually. And then the third act turns everything on its head, playing 100% against expectations ... but unfortunately, "some cleverness" doesn't mean the film's really clever. As a matter of fact, the surprise finale fails to convince, it negates way too much that has been happening before, and it fails to properly explain things away. So really, the resolution, including some Scanner-like effects, comes off as rather ridiculous. On the plus side though, the film is well put together and atmospheric, and makes the most out of its central location. It just could have done with a better (and indeed better structured) script ...

review © by Mike Haberfelner

 

Feeling lucky? Want to search any of my partnershops yourself for more, better results? (commissions earned)

The links below will take you just there!!!

Find Eli at the amazons ...   amazon.com   amazon.co.uk   amazon.de Looking for imports? Find Eli here ...   eThaiCD.com Your shop for all things Thai Something naughty? (Must be over 18 to go there!)   find Eli at adultvideouniverse.com

Thanks for watching !!!