Weekly Review -- A haunting separation

100 Feet (2008) -- Cinematic ghost tales of today can often pick up a hint or two about subtlety from the days of yore. Some movies -- The Sixth Sense, The Others and The Ring, to name a few recent examples -- manage to achieve a great degree of effectiveness, mostly due to expert storytelling and tangible ambiance that conveys the tension of their narratives. Enter 100 Feet, an hour and thirty-six minutes of pure otherworldly goodness. Marnie Watson (Famke Janssen) has been placed under house arrest, following a jail stint she served for having murdered her abusive police officer husband (Michael Paré) in self-defense. As she contends with her husband's partner's (Bobby Cannavale) suspicions and the perils of her new situation, Marnie discovers that her husband's ghost still lingers in the house that she is unable to leave... The most striking aspect of the movie is its representation of the apparition. The visual is downright frightening, especially upon its first appearance. Contrary to numerous CGI phantasms of recent years (hello, The Fog remake), the 100 Feet specter actually looks like it could and would hurt everyone in its path; hazy and menacing, it moves in shades of pale, stalking its prey. The context of the events demands an actor who can breathe humanity into the lead role, and one of the things that makes the movie come alive is Janssen's performance. She is great at reacting and playing Marnie by gut instinct, giving the character some believably poignant emotional overtones. Cannavale is also good as the ex-police partner, radiating sleaze and skepticism at every turn. As far as the screenplay goes, I liked the ingenuity of the principal character's predicament, which translates into high stakes in a game of survival amid disbelief. Some inconsistencies do plague the story, though. For example, how come no one ever came to Marnie and Mike's place to investigate the abuse claims? Did the neighbours never wonder what the shouting was all about? From what we could see, the entire street could hear Marnie yelling out for help. Why is no one ever curious about the ruckus when she is fighting Mike's ghost? Sure, she is under house arrest, which does not mean that she is invisible to the rest of the world. These tiny holes leave one scratching their head; however, they certainly do not diminish the horror unfolding on screen, what with the story being engagingly suspenseful and unpredictable. Regardless of its few faults, the movie is an old-fashioned ghost fable for the 21st century. Enjoy your haunting.

8/10