Neil Doyle TIM DALY stars as a skeptical lawyer with no belief in the supernatural who moves into the house of a deceased aunt when his marriage breaks up. He soon believes that he's not alone in the creepy mansion and begins to doubt his sanity after some encounters of a ghostly kind that might just be happening in his head.Before he knows it, he's getting assistance from a woman psychic (ZOE SALDANA) who tells him the house holds a grim secret. Gradually, we discover that the key to the haunting lies in his past, when he was subjected to harsh treatment at the age of five from a mother whose punishment makes "Mommie Dearest" look like "Snow White." So far, so good. There are some nice shivery moments but we keep hoping for our hero to see the light and discover just what is going on. It takes a little too long to reach that conclusion and when it does, the ending is an unsatisfying letdown that leaves you jolted just as the end credits begin to unfold. That's it? Yes, an ambiguous and terribly disappointing and empty stone wall conclusion that provides more questions than answers.Most viewers will feel cheated by the ending, after a fairly good case of goose pimples from a low key, rather tepid ghost story. In the central role of the lawyer, Tim Daly proves almost as adept at drama as he was in comedy roles. TOM ARNOLD, as a sympathetic colleague, has little to do but bark his lines in snappy fashion.

herb-924-148734 This one was interesting until the company apparently ran out of money and had to rush the ending. You knew something was wrong when the protagonist's para-normal friend couldn't make it on the fatal night. Then his shrink tells him he was locked in a closet on the day of his mother's "accident." This revelation, we are told, emerged because the protagonist was in a 'crisis stage.' Then he says I'm going to a hotel, but first I'm going back to get my things. The shrink says, good idea! Come on -- the writers are getting desperate. Then the para-normal friend's black car is parked outside. But it isn't! That defies credulity and consistency. And so -- the ending. The finale, which has been discussed, is clearly a final wish-fulfillment, the long-held wish from the five year old for the idyllic picnic he was denied so many years before. Other problems -- the doll. Why? Why not the roller-skate (or whatever it was) that propelled Mama down those stairs? And -- what was the protagonist's mental state? Did he finally/gradually go crazy? His development was not well charted. But, basically, the rushed ending defeated a promising film.

Wes Lambert The set up: Our main character Bryan Beckett (Tim Daly) inherits a rambling Victorian style mansion from his aunt and moves into the house while settling the estate. Bryan is the skeptic referred to in the title and finds his stoicism tested by seemingly supernatural events in the house.The Good: This is a review that will be very upfront that I am not exactly happy I gave up time to watch the movie. There are only two real stars here. The first is the gorgeous house which was totally distracting during some of the movie's more dull parts. The stock character of the local priest warns Bryan, "There is something not right about that house". Being the constant HGTV viewer, I wondered if he was referring the plumbing, wiring or maybe termites. Such speculation was a nice diversion. The second is Zoe Saldana in the small role of Cassie, a paranormal expert of sorts who helps Bryan discover work his way through the mystery. She is a fantastic actress who I am so happy has found success in the form of the new Star Trek franchise. For about 15 minutes while she was on the screen, Jeff (my yet to be named movie watching partner) turned to me and said, "this is getting interesting". It did not last though. The Bad: I don't know where to begin. I could say The Skeptic is a half decent attempt at low budget horror, but I would have to ignore so much. The combination of clunky writing and bad acting is dismal. There are some exchanges between Bryan and his best bud, Sully (Tom Arnold) where you almost feel the writer is getting into a groove, but then just as suddenly everything switches back to a state best described as awkward. As an example, the script hits you over the head in the first 15 minutes that Bryan is an unemotional skeptic , but below the surface we are also supposed to feel he is troubled. There is no nuance here. Daly is forced either to play straight on "skeptic" or emotional basket case. I used the word clunky before and it is so appropriate to describe him switching back and forth between the two. Oh and the ending. I'll give you that it is creepy but you could interpret it several different ways. I don't need to be spoon-fed my movie plots but as the viewer I would have appreciated a hint. Without that my question is did the writer really intend to create the most evil mother since "Mommy Dearest". Final verdict – great concept but horrible execution.

sasha_ibz Some reviews express disappointment about the ending of this movie; I disagree. This is without a doubt a ghost story, but it also explores human emotion about traumatic events. It's not run of the mill. It was a refreshing change from the usual shock horror type movie about ghosts. I don't know why people can't understand the ending, it's quite simple, his mother wanted him to have the house so she could find forgiveness for her abuses. The sunny picnic expresses this. If you want the usual type of haunting movie then the ending would be disappointing but I think it was a very suitable conclusion for this movie, it all made sense in the end, there were no clichéd fright scenes and the ending did not have the usual shock then an attempt to procure a sequel. Just a simple reason for the haunting in the first place. I really enjoyed this movie, it's not a blockbuster, but much better than Paranormal Activity which does not come to any conclusions about why the haunting took place, I'll bet there is a sequel to that movie. The Skeptic stands on it's own as a complete work beginning, middle and end. Sweet.