It's one thing to judge this just by the message it is transporting or by the way the movie realized that same idea. I think the idea behind the movie is really good. And while this is one of the better efforts the former OC girl is involved with, this still lacks a lot of things great horror movies have.Mischa Barton and the other actors in this look good, the framing and shooting of the movie does not need to enhance anything there. Some scenes could do with some enhancing in the acting area though. The dialog could be a bit better too. If you can overlook all those things, you may be able to see this in a better light than it actually represents though ...

If you're into this genre, I believe you'll find this well worth your time--especially if you're a Mischa Barton fan! I was afraid I might be a bit disappointed after reading some of the reviews I found here, so even though I'd looked forward to seeing this movie, I'd tempered my expectations going into it. But I needn't have worried as I very much enjoyed it! The only criticism I found to be at all true was that perhaps there wasn't much development of the secondary characters—yet I didn't feel that took away from the overall story.I thought it was very well paced and more than sufficiently scary. I love a good scary movie, but I'm much more into the psychological kind of scary than the slasher kind of blood and guts movies. So anybody expecting the latter would be disappointed, but if you like a movie that makes you think a little bit and puts you more than a little on edge, this is it (it didn't help that there are some pretty strong winds outside right now, and at one point while they were on their search in the movie, a broom I keep on my front porch got blown over and clattered against both the door and handrails out there, about 10 feet from where I was watching this movie!).And I don't understand the critics of Mischa Barton. Although I'll admit I am a fan of hers anyway, hence wanting to watch this movie in the first place, I honestly thought she did a very good job in this movie! I also really liked her in Walled In as well as Homecoming—so I'm finding her to be a surprisingly good actress for this genre of movies. But it doesn't hurt that there was a love story here as well since I also think she handles that well too, along with the introspective type of roles that more dramatic romances have as opposed to the rom-com type of stuff. I can't say I knew Ryan Egghold prior to this, but I thought he handled his role fine too, as did the secondary characters despite not having too much to do overall.I won't give any spoilers here, but despite enjoying watching scary movies alone (as I just did this one), I almost wish I'd watched it with someone so I could debate the ending that I felt was left a bit open to interpretation. Or at least, I know how I believe I interpreted it—but I could see it being explained another way too! So as the one reviewer mentioned discussing it with his fellow movie-watcher for two hours afterward, I could easily see having such a conversation. So all that is to say, unless you're expecting a blood and guts movie or want a really fast-paced scarefest, I believe many fans of this genre would find this worth the watch! And although I only rented this for now, I plan on buying it so I'll have it for my permanent collection as I would and will definitely watch it again.

I can honestly say my expectations were set too high for this film. I was expecting a supernatural love story and instead I got a big mess of a film, with a plot so vague I hardly know what to make of it. The film starts off promising with a present to past reflection leading up to the current events. No doubt this tactic was to keep the audiences' attention to the end of this film. I feel without it all interest would have been lost, because there is nothing within the first 20 minutes to indicate anything supernatural about this film otherwise. That said, there isn't too much of anything ghostly until the last 40 minutes or so of this film.The love story isn't strong enough either to make an impact on the viewer. The love story never really develops and the main story focuses more on the main protagonist dealing with some eerie events which begin to plague this young woman following a eulogy challenging anything supernatural to prove to her there is something beyond death. These events are what lead her to find refuge and love with a man she basically just bumped in to. Into the Dark has a few things going for it, a talented cast, and a successful atmospheric tone. The only weakness is the screenplay itself; it is much too ambiguous for my liking and there is never a clear explanation for anything. Excluding our lead, all of the other characters are underdeveloped and certain events occur to all of them that just leave you scratching your head asking "what was the point of that? ".I recommend this film only to those who are willing to ignore a weak screenplay, and are looking for a mindless supernatural romance film. Into the Dark runs roughly 110 minutes, and does have a bit of everything, but the film just can't seem to keep it's focus on any one thing.

SPOILER ALERT Yes, the movie is suspenseful - I'll give it that, but there are many holes and disappointments.First, the two main actors are BORING! She spoke as if she was deflating -- monotoned, the "grrrrrrr" vocal range and just not very attractive acting range. The male was just as dull. I just didn't care about either of them which is a big problem with any film.Next, the story line is ambiguous: What was the purpose of her being selected by the "building" -- her eulogy? Really? If so many people went missing from being in the building, why did anyone want to live there? Wouldn't the police notice a "pattern" for this happening? Don't tell the fire dept that there is no stairwell? Wouldn't that be noticed on regular, mandatory inspections? Who or what was in control of the top floor? What actually happened to him? How did he "change places" with her? Who did he negotiate with? Why did they both end up in Afterlife Beach and the other girl stuck on the haunted floor? She didn't do anything.Finally, the end was "Chick Flick Gone Wild." Boring.