After getting past the stupid legalities purported to make this set up possible, one of my favorites was Sam bringing them into the building through this tight little wedge so we could find out what Jake's "fear" is. They travel around in the building when lo and behold a security guard just walks right in the front door!I guess this brain trust foursome didn't think to try that! And it only goes downhill from there. I don't recall Dell saying he was afraid of water or drowning but he walks into a walk through room where both doors close and water pours in and he drowns. And yet Jake & Pia only once say his name when they are looking for Sam & wonder where Dell is & he is then totally forgotten for the rest the film. I hope Robert Patrick got paid well to put himself into this drivel. And pretty much the same for Eliza Dushku.

'Eloise' drew me into seeing it, with a cool poster, an intriguing idea and as someone with a general appreciation for horror. That it was low-budget, which from frequent personal experience is rarely a good sign due to that there are so many poor ones out there, made me though apprehensive. Watching 'Eloise', it was yet another film to waste potential and be pretty underwhelming, its worst elements being pretty awful, with a lot more wrong than right. 'Eloise' is not great, or good, has a fair share of problems (fairly big ones too) and doesn't do enough with its potential, which was hardly small. There are however a few decent, even good, qualities in 'Eloise'.Lets start with the positives. The scenery is atmospheric, likewise with the very nice way it's shot. The music is suitably spooky and quirky and doesn't distract at all from the atmosphere, while not exactly enhancing it. Acting is better than average, the first third was promising and a few scares are effective.However, the story does feel over-stretched and some of it feels vague, under-explained in the last third where the film especially became duller, more predictable, more senseless and less scary. Too many characters are too sketchy and with nowhere near enough to make one want to endear to them. Their irritating and illogical decision making and behaviours insult the intelligence. Too many things don't add up and should have been resolved much better or made more cohesive. Making the film feel bland, muddled and forgettable with not enough heart put into it.Dialogue can be stilted and rambling while the pace is uneven, dragging in a lot of the second half and never is it exciting. Found too many the supposedly shocking moments not surprising or scary and the supposedly creepy atmosphere dreary, due to the excessive obviousness and the lack of tension and suspense. The last third badly sags in momentum and the atmosphere completely falls flat.Overall, underwhelmingly mediocre but could have been much worse. 4/10 Bethany Cox

This story is not true; it is total fantasy. Eloise was a real place but otherwise the story is total fiction. I don't see any reviews that makes that totally clear.The story is ridiculous, as many other reviews say. It is also boring and confusing. It is boring in that there are portions that are like dramatic pauses that are quite lengthy and then not much happens after the pause; little or no drama. It is confusing because there are flashbacks but I have no idea of the relevance of the flashbacks. Sometimes the present-day characters are in the flashbacks but there is a thirty-year difference in time. Perhaps there is an explanation in the movie about how the present-day characters are in the flashbacks and if so then I was too bored to understand.If you are an Eliza Dushku fan then I think you will be disappointed; there is not much material in the movie to get much of her. She cares about her brother and is sweet like that but otherwise there is not much.

The movie wasn't THAT bad. The only reason I watched it is because I grew up not far from there and didn't realize this was shot on site. I had never been in there but as a kid was threatened to be thrown in there 50 times (C'mon every town has one of these places that kids know of like "If you don't straighten up we're going to have you thrown in Shady Pines". Well for us it was Eloise).The most horrifying thing about this movie was how they got that black dude to play that 1970s J.J. stereotype then have him stealing the drugs and shooting at everything. Having him nearly drown was the icing on the cake as you know black people are afraid of water too (eyeroll).TRIVIA: Jackie Wilson is buried in a cemetery across the road from this place. It was paupers grave for years until they raised enough money for a proper monument.