Shadow Within, The (2010)

Director: Silvana Zancolo
Writers: Pascal Françaix (novel “Les Mères Noires”), Silvana Zancolo (screenplay), Daniel Aarons, (screenplay), and Giovanni Eccher (screenplay)
Cast: Laurence Belcher, Hayley J. Williams, Beth Winslet, Rod Hallett, and Bonny Ambrose
Original release date: 2007

The Shadow Within opens with a woman giving birth in a bright white room. She loses the second baby, which is show in brief as a demonic looking creature. Back to present time, the surviving son Maurice (Laurence Belcher) is neglected and abused by the mother (Hayley J. Williams). Maurice seems to be an odd child, who soon gains the attention of Madame Armand (Ambrose).

The grieving mother Marie will not let the death of the other son go and constantly takes it out on Maurice. Madame Armand and her band of other grieving mothers are convinced that Maurice has some connection to the afterlife, thus the women force him to try to communicate with their dead.

This film had quite a bit of potential. Ghost films are hard convincingly pull off. The lower budget of this film showed in certain areas where it mattered the most. First of all the story was pretty decent and suspenseful. The script however did not successfully adapt to the story. One would think that with three screen writers we would have a nicely put together script, but this is sadly not the case. The dialog is unbelievable, and almost seems condensed and rushed.

The visual effects are the next area that needed to be strong for this ghost tale to live up to its potential. The effects in this one were a mixed bag. Scenes with Maurice displaying blackened eyes and exhibiting almost a possession like state are pretty cool. Others, such as when the shadowy figures run across the snowy ground, look cartoony.

The acting however is where the film has its strongest point. Belcher does a good job as Maurice, though he does lack some emotion at times. Winslet (yes, Kate’s sister) is a standout as the doctor, and Hallett equally impresses as her teacher husband. But again, the poor dialog distracts from the actor’s performances in much of the movie.

The film also succeeds in the location and set designs. Snow covered ground and old country homes always add to the creepiness of ghost flicks and they really do look great in this one. The look and feel of this film is quite affective and adds to the suspense of the whole thing.

As I’ve mentioned good ghost stories are hard to execute. My problem with this one is that I couldn’t feel attached to any of the characters. This one tries but falls short in many areas where it counted the most. With a more polished script and some stronger ghostly visuals The Shadow Within could have been more affective. It was a decent watch with a great atmosphere, with even some eerie moments, but didn’t stand out among other ghost movies for me.
IMDb/trailer