By Geno McGahee
The first thing that OMINOUS had going for it was that it was not found footage. It seems that 99% of haunting movies are now found footage and I’ve had my fill. I don’t see the point of these films anymore. Sometimes you get something worth watching, but they are rare. PARANORMAL ACTIVITY helped bring in this garbage and now we have to sift through it to find a good film. OMINOUS isn’t a great film but it tried hard to be.
We have the Callahan family that is taking some time away to heal. Mitch (Joseph Anthony Jette) had an extramarital affair and his oldest son and wife have not forgiven him. He wants to make things right but it’s difficult. This time away at a remote cabin was going to solve the problems but the dark history of the house has different ideas.
These two ghost children begin appearing to the youngest daughter and I was happy to see that the film didn’t rely totally on CGI. There was some, but they used a mix of CGI and the old school, making the ghost children sort of creepy. The problem that this movie has is that it keeps repeating itself. The kids see the ghosts, freak out, and repeat. It gets old and the film loses steam quickly. This could have easily been a 20 minute short, but it is really padded and it shows.
The secrets of the haunted house are revealed and it’s nothing new…it’s pretty uninspired. The story is very simple and generic and if you are looking for something to make it all worth it at the end, you won’t find it here. It’s too bad because this film was shot pretty well and the acting was decent. Had this group had something better to work with, it could have made a good movie. There was obvious heart in it. OMINOUS starts out well but you will lose interest at the 20 minute mark. I can’t recommend it.
Rating: 3/10
