Solstice (2008)

OK this is no classic but it's not suppose to be one. The storyline is a group of kids go to a cabin after one of the kid's twin sister commits suicide under mysterious circumstances. As soon as they arrive, they get haunted by a creepy ghost. It is also a remake but I haven't seen the original so I cannot compare this film to it.I think all the actors do a decent job though R. Lee Ermey definitely steals the show as a creepy resident in the woods. I think what I like about his character is the mystery that he carries with him which is what keeps me interested in finding out what his deal is. With the exception of his character, everyone else seems rather dull mostly because they have been done before with many other horror movies. You have the good girl who is the main character, the love interest who maybe holding a deadly secret and there is the joker who is a bit of a jerk. It's all too traditional to be but the performances of all the actors does make them very believable that you can see past those traditional clichés of the characters.The film doesn't deliver a great deal of scares but when it does, they really work and that is best thing about this film. The ghost is very creepy looking and the story does keep you hooked as the characters try to find out the mystery of what it is that is haunting them and why the ghost is doing it. As in most nowadays ghosts films, it is all about what has happened to them that has caused them to be dead which I have no problem with just so long as the twist is something new which I found the revelation of the main villain who caused the ghost's death to be rather obvious but the identity of the ghost was a surprise. This was because the film would tease you to believe that the ghost was the main character's twin sister but it turns out to be someone different.Overall, the film isn't very original but it does have some qualities such as believable performances, a surprising twist and some eerie scenes that should keep most ghost story fans hooked but don't expect anything new.

To me, Solstice has been a rather positive surprise. As a devout fan of the Horror genre and almost all its sub-genres, I watch many Horror films, sometimes a few in one week, and with the genre being as "Hollywoodly" neglected as it is (at least quality-wise) I come across many mediocre films, or worse. Lowered expectations have become the finest tool for us horror fans. Unfortunate, but true. Having said that - being a Horror fan does have it's rare special moments and perks, and Solstice has been just one these.Solstice's true innovative and original genius is, in my opinion, its combining of two sub-genres: Ghost Stories and Teen Slashers. While the Ghost Story part is pretty straight forward, the Teen Slasher bit has some pretty nice features that differentiate it. For instance with no spoilers - the guy in the gas station isn't an old redneck, and the usual roles of the characters (jerk, hottie, good guy and such) get rather scrambled at some point.The story and build-up are good enough, creating interest and sympathy, and the acting is also pretty decent by all the cast. Always nice seeing Ice Man Shawn Ashmore in other roles. The plot is well thought of, and the twist has really taken me by surprise!While I can't point my finger to anything specifically wrong, I can say that while Solstice is good, it isn't great and could have been better (but how many films can you name that couldn't have?). Devout fans of the genre would really enjoy the cross-genre, and all in all the film itself has been fun to watch. Recommended!

I personally felt that the story had some familiarity but also a bit of originality to it as well. The acting was reasonable for a teen crew, cinematography was good, and the score was eerie enough to keep it interesting. I agree with another poster who said this was more a mystery movie than a horror movie and it definitely had a "noir-ish" atmosphere to it. Also - completely irrelevant, but did anyone else think that Elisabeth Harnois looks like Taylor Swift?I watched the movie from a R1 DVD with 5.1 audio (released by Alliance) and thought the mix was quite good. The DVD itself is pretty bare-bones with no real special features other than an audio commentary; kind of disappointing as it would have been neat to see a featurette on New Orleans post-Katrina in the area the movie was filmed. I couldn't help thinking of "The Skeleton Key" - another mystery/suspense movie filmed in New Orleans as well.

In these recent years we've seen so many horror films with one crazy plot twist after another and presenting us convoluted story lines and deranged denouements. So how surprised I was to discover that SOLSTICE manages to tell a ghostly mystery plot that is so basic and simple, it actually turned into a solid and engaging film. The mystery develops slow but steady. There's practically no shocks or gore, but the film didn't need all that. And there's only one twist featured within the film, but it's a good one. The mood and atmosphere are tense. The cinematography looks great. The swamp and woods settings are wonderful and creepy at the same time. Veteran actor R. Lee Ermey has a small role, but his character actually has weight. Young actress Elisabeth Harnois plays a double role (Megan has a twin sister Sophie who's suicide becomes the core of the mystery) and I'd really love to see more of her. Aside from being beautiful, she's also perfectly capable of carrying this film with her lead performance. I thoroughly enjoyed SOLSTICE because it's very effective without over-doing things. I even liked the ending, which for once does not include the whole cast being slaughtered at the end of the film or a crazy twist still killing off the protagonist unexpectedly. That would have been too easy and predictable. The way things come to a conclusion now, makes it a better film, separating itself from the obvious ones. To give you an idea, I thought SOLSTICE was better than recent films like THE MARSH (2006) and BENEATH (2007).