Summoned (2013)

Lifetime adds it's touch to the supernatural thriller genre about former members of a jury who sentenced a man to death. One by one they start dying - is it a ghost or natural? It's moderately predictable in a reassuring lifetime way. It's also a bit weak especially in the romance part.Ashley Scott is in a lot of LMN movies these days and she is a bit painful to watch at times. There is an inadvertently funny part with James Hong. Poor Cuba, what are you doing in this kind of TV movie? Overall okay for a relaxing watch if you just want to unwind and switch off your brain for a couple of hours.

Writer/director Peter Sullivan's thriller SUMMONED feels like what you would get if Stephen King and John Grisham teamed up to write a story together. It's a legal mystery in the form of a ghost story, about the spirit of an infamous serial killer who has returned for revenge.Ashley Scott plays Laura, a former juror on the Midnight Murderer case, who is now living a quiet life in Marin County. But when the foreman of the jury, who also wrote a book about the case, supposedly commits suicide, she gets suspicious. After two more jurors are found dead, Laura becomes convinced it's murder... and worse, the jurors are being hunted in order of the juror numbers. Guess who's next in line? She teams up with a cop (Bailey Chase), who thinks that they're dealing with a copycat until a couple of creepy scenes lead her to believe that the perp is really the serial killer himself... having returned from the grave. His partner (Cuba Gooding Jr) was an investigator on the original case and together, they make a startling discovery that will throw the whole trial into question. You may see some things coming, but this evocative thriller has enough surprises to keep you guessing.The performances are strong. Ashley Scott is amazing as the troubled lead who is still dealing with the death of her child, Bailey Chase is solid as a skeptical detective who needs some convincing on the supernatural front, and Cuba Gooding Jr. is good as the veteran cop with a secret. And, refreshingly, he's not the killer.Summoned is cut from the same cloth as movies like THE RING, and there's also some similarity to the underrated EXORCIST III. In fact, there's a decent scare in this movie very similar to a scene from that film. Most of the gore is off screen, but director Sullivan still knows how to make the audience uncomfortable and build a creepy mood. Recommended.

Part horror movie, part mystery, "Summoned" is a ghost story about a serial killer who was executed years ago and has come back to haunt the victims who convicted him. Despite the fact that it's about a serial killer, it's more like "The Ring", where its about the tone and little jump scares than it is about killing or gore. In fact, there's very little violence in it at all. But it's still very creepy. The character development is good, and Ashley Scott does an amazing job as a former juror whose life was ruined by the case. The movie is full of twists and turns around every corner which keeps everything entertaining and fast moving. There's a big twist towards the end that catches you off guard and makes the story even more tragic. Mixing the legal and horror genres is something I've never seen before, and the result is really fresh. Cuba Gooding Jr has a small but important role and he ends up playing a much bigger part than the movie hints at early on. Overall, if you like movies like "The Ring" or "The Grudge," I would definitely recommend this movie.

"Saw him again this afternoon. Seems to be stalking me wherever I go." Five years ago serial killer Simon Bourdias was found guilty of murder and sentenced to death. Now mysterious deaths are occurring to the members of the jury. Juror number 5 Laura Price (Scott) starts to investigate and begins to wonder if the deaths are a coincidence or something more mysterious then she ever imagined. I have to say that after the last Cuba Gooding movie I watched I was very worried that this one would be bad too. Not to spoil anything but he is in this for about 10 minutes. That said this movie was not that terrible. While it does have the feel of a made-for-TV movie it is watchable and I have seen much worse. The movie is a little slow at times and a little repetitive but it does keep you watching and interested all the way till the end. Overall, one of the better B-rate movies that I have seen in awhile. Nothing amazing but this is worth watching. I surprisingly give it a B.