You know how when a film is marketed as a horror film, but it’s not really a horror film, but more of a drama, and everyone hates it because “it’s boring and nothing happens”? Well, you don’t have to worry so much about that with this film because even though it IS a drama masquerading as a horror film, it’s a pretty decent drama, too. Shy, withdrawn Tommy, played by Clem Tibber, is forced to live with his ne’er do well father, Mark (Shaun Dingwall), as squatters in an abandoned apartment complex slated for demolition. It’s clear that Dad doesn’t really want Tommy there, but Tommy’s mother doesn’t seem to be around, and Mark clearly doesn’t want to talk about where she is. It’s not much of a life for either one of them, but it takes a turn for the worse when Tommy begins hearing scrabbling noises coming from the apartment next door. The padlocked and EMPTY apartment next door. He strikes up an awkwardly sweet friendship with a neighborhood tough girl named Carmen (Elarica Gallacher), and enlists her in his attempts to figure out just what is going on in the neighboring apartment.

It’s Tibber’s performance that holds this all together, although Gallacher does a great job as well. As I said, it’s actually an engaging drama at its core. We’re interested in these relationships. But the horror aspect does grow as the film goes on, and it has some frightening moments, but they’re mostly due to our concern for the characters and the ominous atmosphere that writer/director Oliver Frampton has created for us, even in the “normal” spaces of the film. It’s not hard to make a transition from the peeling paint of Tommy’s dilapidated bedroom walls to the mysterious red-painted room next door. But be warned—you won’t find any gore or spinning heads here.

The film unfortunately falls apart a bit in the third act—specifically, the last 15 minutes or so. They seem rushed and incomplete, and ultimately unsatisfying. It’s a shame, too, because Frampton and crew do an otherwise outstanding job.  If you like that slow-burn, psychological horror (think Rosemary’s Baby maybe), it might be worth a watch. If you’re looking for The Conjuring 2 (I’ll have that review shortly for you), this isn’t it.

IMDB says 6.3 (but only 70 reviewers); I would have agreed if not for that ending. A 5.5 from me. (running time 1:29)