The Caretaker is a thoroughly engaging and deeply disturbing new entry into the horror film genre. The cat-and-mouse game between the well-intentioned Mallorie (Meegan Warner) and her deeply troubled grandmother (Sondra Blake) delivers satisfying screams, thanks largely to the film's eerie, Polanski-esque sense of atmosphere. Director Jeff Prugh impressively maximizes the film's fear potential without the use of extravagant special effects or an obscene amount of gore, instead using lighting, music, and character development to create a building sense of dread. And the atmosphere works like a charm, with the film's final moments leaving viewers in absolute terror. The Caretaker is a gloriously effective chiller that is sure to haunt viewers for days afterwards.

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.

"The Caretaker" starts out well enough, but after a fairly interesting start, then the air seems to seep out of the creative balloon and the movie just declines downhill from there. It is as if the movie never really managed to fully manifest a firm foothold and it just slipped between the hands of director Jeff Prugh.The story is about young Mallorie (played by Meegan Warner) whom returns to her childhood home with her boyfriend in order to take care of her elderly grandmother Birdie (played by Sondra Blake) as her health is on the decline. But there are dark secrets looming over the household.For a horror / thriller movie, then "The Caretaker" was frightfully devoid of anything even remotely scary of even close to being just the least bit thrilling. For a movie in this genre, then "The Caretaker" failed to impress and will just quietly go unforgotten into the darkest recesses of the movie collection.What did stand out in the movie was the performance by Sondra Blake. She really stood out in this generic and mundane horror movie with her impressive performance.The effects in "The Caretaker" were sparse and far in between. But whatever was there was used well enough in advantage of the movie. But it was a shame that they didn't allocate a bigger budget for special effects and practical effects, because such is usually a big part of a horror movie for it to be convincing.Sad to say, but your attention will be tested throughout the course of the movie, because it is very tempting to pick up the phone for example and just check the social medias or something, because there is so little going on in the movie, that your attention will eventually start to falter and wander.As I mentioned earlier, then "The Caretaker" is not an impressive movie nor a memorable movie in the horror / thriller genre. And there are far, far better similar movies available.The movie's cover does look quite interesting, although it oversells the movie. So don't judge a movie by its cover!"The Caretaker" managed to score a mere three out of ten stars from me. And I can honestly say that the movie, should you manage to get through it to the end, does not support more than just a single viewing.