This one was interesting until the company apparently ran out of money and had to rush the ending. You knew something was wrong when the protagonist's para-normal friend couldn't make it on the fatal night. Then his shrink tells him he was locked in a closet on the day of his mother's "accident." This revelation, we are told, emerged because the protagonist was in a 'crisis stage.' Then he says I'm going to a hotel, but first I'm going back to get my things. The shrink says, good idea! Come on -- the writers are getting desperate. Then the para-normal friend's black car is parked outside. But it isn't! That defies credulity and consistency. And so -- the ending. The finale, which has been discussed, is clearly a final wish-fulfillment, the long-held wish from the five year old for the idyllic picnic he was denied so many years before. Other problems -- the doll. Why? Why not the roller-skate (or whatever it was) that propelled Mama down those stairs? And -- what was the protagonist's mental state? Did he finally/gradually go crazy? His development was not well charted. But, basically, the rushed ending defeated a promising film.

Tim Daly stars as successful lawyer Bryan Becket, a very vocal non believer who doesn't adhere to any sort of religious philosophy, psychiatry, supernatural, or psychic phenomena(it also includes astrology and the belief in the Loch Ness monster). In short, Becket doesn't believe in anything other than what the senses tell us. This all changes, though, when he starts staying in his dead aunt's house, and the specter of a woman starts appearing(and whispering)to him.Tom Arnold is Daly's partner at their firm, Sully, often the butt of many jokes because he's the polar opposite of Becket..in short, he believes almost in everything. Estranged from a very good wife, Robin(Andrea Roth) who loves him and has tolerated a lot of unnecessary stress thanks to her "unemotional" husband, Becket uses his time(it's a good enough excuse)at the other house in an attempt to prepare for a big case coming up. But, the woman that keeps popping up distracts Becket from the task at hand. Becket has a lot of childhood baggage that he has kept buried from when he was five years old regarding his mother's death(she fell down a flight of steps down a stairwell), which could relate to what is currently "haunting" him. Robert Prosky is Father Wymond, the Priest of his aunt's Catholic church(she wasn't exactly a devout Catholic, though), and a good friend to atheist Becket who, while frowning upon religion of any kind, often enjoys chatting with him despite their differences. Edward Herrmann is Dr. Shepard, a shrink who worked with Becket when he was a kid and maybe knows more about Bryan's past than he is admitting. The sexy Zoe Saldana( pre-Star Trek stardom)has a supporting role as a psychic, Cassie, who helps Becket address the missing bits of his past, confronting those horrible memories that begin to surface. Bruce Altman is Dr. Warren Koven, a "sleep specialist" whose institute was actually listed on Becket's aunt's will to inherit the house Bryan covets..Becket goes to Koven, who doesn't believe in the supernatural, but applies science to the unexplained, in need of advice regarding what he is experiencing in the house.It was supposed to be a simple stay for a little while, sell off the valuable antiques and other properties, then the house itself, but, instead, Becket encounters far more than he could've imagined. We learn than Becket has been suffering sleep deprivation, not to mention, night terrors, reliving past memories without knowing it(Robin informs Bryan of this fact that he talks in his sleep, awakening in horror at the abuse from his mother). Solid cast in this ghost story where someone who has been shaped by the experiences of his past, must come face to face with that monster that has never truly left him. The ending, to me, is rather startling in how it concludes the "relationship" between mother and son. It seems that Becket is being tormented by his mom out of some sort of revenge for something he might've done, as if what she did to him as a child wasn't enough. Yet, the final reel actually goes in a completely different direction, and we see that mother had other plans all along.

The set up: Our main character Bryan Beckett (Tim Daly) inherits a rambling Victorian style mansion from his aunt and moves into the house while settling the estate. Bryan is the skeptic referred to in the title and finds his stoicism tested by seemingly supernatural events in the house.The Good: This is a review that will be very upfront that I am not exactly happy I gave up time to watch the movie. There are only two real stars here. The first is the gorgeous house which was totally distracting during some of the movie's more dull parts. The stock character of the local priest warns Bryan, "There is something not right about that house". Being the constant HGTV viewer, I wondered if he was referring the plumbing, wiring or maybe termites. Such speculation was a nice diversion. The second is Zoe Saldana in the small role of Cassie, a paranormal expert of sorts who helps Bryan discover work his way through the mystery. She is a fantastic actress who I am so happy has found success in the form of the new Star Trek franchise. For about 15 minutes while she was on the screen, Jeff (my yet to be named movie watching partner) turned to me and said, "this is getting interesting". It did not last though. The Bad: I don't know where to begin. I could say The Skeptic is a half decent attempt at low budget horror, but I would have to ignore so much. The combination of clunky writing and bad acting is dismal. There are some exchanges between Bryan and his best bud, Sully (Tom Arnold) where you almost feel the writer is getting into a groove, but then just as suddenly everything switches back to a state best described as awkward. As an example, the script hits you over the head in the first 15 minutes that Bryan is an unemotional skeptic , but below the surface we are also supposed to feel he is troubled. There is no nuance here. Daly is forced either to play straight on "skeptic" or emotional basket case. I used the word clunky before and it is so appropriate to describe him switching back and forth between the two. Oh and the ending. I'll give you that it is creepy but you could interpret it several different ways. I don't need to be spoon-fed my movie plots but as the viewer I would have appreciated a hint. Without that my question is did the writer really intend to create the most evil mother since "Mommy Dearest". Final verdict – great concept but horrible execution.

Just saw this last night and really liked it for the following reason(s):A good, smart thriller that does not feel it needs to hit you over the head to make its points. The creaking noises, the visions that you don't know if are real or a product of this guy's imagination (hey, he had a history of psychiatric treatment). I loved the characters, especially Tim Daily's Brian and Zoe Saldana's Cassie. They are not perfect or good, or even necessarily provoke much sympathy in the viewer, until the movie develops and you peel many layers.Part of my favorite dialog, which again, I think illustrates a wealth of hidden information (paraphrasing):(her father has died in the somewhat recent past) -...so you weren't close with your dad? -Not in a good way.Nothing more is said about this, but you can see the quiet shock in Brian's face when he understand the meaning.I also enjoyed that this is a movie I could watch again and again because it doesn't rely on shock value to scare the viewer, its creepiness has a good effect on me every time. Oh, and the scene with the doll, hahahaha!