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The Marsh
Score: 65%
Rating: R
Publisher: Sony Pictures Home
                  Entertainment

Region: 1
Media: DVD/1
Running Time: 92 Mins.
Genre: Horror
Audio: English 5.1 Dolby Digital,
           Thai
Subtitles: English,
           Japanese, Thai, Korean, Spanish


Features:
  • Behind the Scenes Featurette

The Marsh is an okay horror movie that tries to get away with providing nothing but jump scares. Unfortunately for the movie, I didn't fall for a single one. The occasional jump scare is good and if a movie doesn't really have any, then it can get the audience. But when the entire film is filled with them, they become predictable and any chance of the audience being lulled into the false sense of security required for a good jump scare is out the window.

The plot of The Marsh sounds like someone heard the general idea from The Grudge and went off in a different direction. Many years ago, in the small town of Marshville, an evil act occurred and a little girl and a teenage boy were killed near the swampy area. Now their tormented souls seek vengeance. But why is Claire Holloway (played by Scent of a Woman's Gabrielle Anwar), a famous children's writer, dreaming about this small town that she can't remember ever visiting? When she shows up in Marshville and buys the house from her nightmares, she quickly finds herself haunted and tormented by the two local ghosts.

It isn't long before she befriends the town paper's editor and local historian Noah Pitney (Justin Louis of the new movie Shooter), as well as the town's paranormal investigator played by Forrest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland, Ghost Dog). The three start to unravel the mystery as locals begin to die off and the little girl who died so long ago begins to get her revenge. Before it is all over, there are a few plot twists (all of which are predictable) and peace is once again restored.

The Marsh doesn't really have a lot going for it. Besides Forrest Whitaker (an actor I have followed and liked for years), the acting isn't too spectacular, but it isn't horrible either. The only special feature on this disc is a somewhat lengthy featurette that interviews several cast and crew members, but nothing really to go crazy about.

The Marsh is a movie that only the most die hard horror fans should consider picking up. It isn't bad, its just really mediocre.



-J.R. Nip, GameVortex Communications
AKA Chris Meyer

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