I was so impressed with the character and setting driven storyline. Nowadays, there are few movies that manage to scare audiences without special effects, blood and gore; however, this film successfully kept me on the edge of my seat with incredible performances from the actors and a gripping original plot inspired by the old mansion they reside in and a family history of psychosis. Mallorie is a young woman who steps up to take care of her grandmother Birdie when all of her previous caretakers are driven away by the horrors of the old house that she lives in. Mallorie's boyfriend, August comes with her as emotional support, but also to keep an eye on her sleepwalking problem and her own fears of becoming like her grandmother. Sondra Blake does a wonderful job in playing the crazy grandmother, who carries the story forward as her psychosis becomes worse and her previous Wiccan practices are revealed as she summons the dead back to the house. Witches. Haunted houses. And a scary clown. This movie is perfect to get you in the mood for Halloween.

I did like the actors and their acting. It was quite believable in context of what was going on. I also liked their communication - which was not forcibly poor to further the plot. (poor communication being one of the main tools in most horror movies i know to actually create tension...) Sadly though - i did not care a bit for the story the movie told. It committed the sin of being "simply boring". No real twists and turns, no build up of tension, and the climax felt rather "mehh". I caught myself checking the time several times during that movie.The idea of the movie is not really new .. the execution is ... in my opinion ... textbook... sadly textbook as in "been there, done that - a hundred times..." Whats left is what can only be called mediocre.

If you like smart, original horror/thriller films, check this one out. It has a creepy, claustrophobic feeling and a good set of performances from the mostly young cast. There isn't a lot of gore, blood and guts and slasher-film type stuff here. It starts off slow, with some almost comedic elements that make you wonder where the film is headed, and the horror aspect really kicks in about half-way through. The filmmakers build suspense via the history of the house, the old woman Birdie and the mystery of who she is and why they have to take care of her, and traditional psychological thriller techniques with the clown Rawdily. The film almost has a vintage, classic 50's horror feel to it. An approach that really sets it apart from all the found-footage horror that everyone is doing these days. Megan Warner is great as Mallorie.

The Caretaker starts out pretty well, I think.. It looks good, doesn't look especially low budget, the acting is OK, it had an overall creepiness to it, I gave it a chance. (I have seen my fair share of small horror flicks, I usually get a feeling pretty fast) Yeah, well it starts out good, you're led to believe there is something really creepy going on, and then.. well, then almost nothing more happens. I mean, stuff does happen, the movie isn't directly boring, it's just way to tame. It's more like a drama than horror. A movie can work without the big horror scenes and jump-scares and stuff, but then it has to have everything else really locked down. And while the actors do a decent job and all, it's not enough. There are a couple of scenes that are pretty creepy, I'll give it that, but it just seems like the movie is stuck in the beginning part for the whole thing. You know, the beginning part of a horror movie where just small stuff happens.I do want to talk a little bit about Sean Martini, tho. He is the boyfriend of the main character, and he is sort of a main character himself, and I thought he was pretty good. He kind of looks like a cross between G-eazy and Jared Leto, he looks good. Skinny, but good. His acting, although not mind blowing, is pretty natural and not too acty. The girl, Meegan Warner is alright too, but I liked the guy the best. The old woman, eh, she overplays a tad, but OK.So, for pretty much the whole first half+, I was pretty entertained, but then it didn't pick up pace at all, and then when the mystery is revealed, it's just not that cool, and the ending is pretty cliché.So yeah. At first I was like: yeah, this is pretty cool, kind of creepy. But then I was like: Aaaw, come on, can something big happens soon? And just to be clear, one of the stars in this rating is for Sean Martini.