When reading reviews for many films, you will run across one word quite often...a word that I think is a little misunderstood frankly.  This word is “formulaic”.  Meanings of this word can range from routine to cut-and-dried to commonplace...but the gist of it is that something formulaic follows a, well, formula.  Many reviewers use this word to mean boring or uninspired, but I intend to use it a little differently when it comes to The Marsh. 

When dining out, I have a few favorite restaurants...okay; fine...I have several favorite restaurants.  But my point is that I go back to these places time and again because they make the food I like according to a FORMULA that I like.  Obviously some restaurants have better formulas than others and thus the end result is desirable...and that just about describes The Marsh as best I can.  While this film follows just about every rule in the “haunted house / supernatural thriller” book, it does so to a satisfying ending and is well handled all the way through to that point.

Claire Holloway (Gabrielle Anwar) is a successful writer of children’s books.  Not the learn-your-shapes or spot the guy in the funny hat kind, mind you; but the kind that are mildly creepy and about the things that go bump in the night.  She both writes and illustrates these books, dredging up a whole variety of chilling characters and frightening locations from somewhere deep in her imagination...or perhaps from somewhere else entirely...like her subconscious.  Claire has been seeking psychiatric help for a series of violent and frightening dreams, and not having had any breakthroughs, decides to simply take it easy for awhile.

And, as we have learned from many films before this one, when an author needs a break to introspect or to finish a new work, they travel to the country and rent a house....where things go wrong...very, very wrong.  In this case, Claire finds something strangely drawing her to not only the area of her stress-release vacation, but to the very house she winds up renting.  No sooner has she arrived than she begins to encounter the strange cast of characters that make up this out-of-the-way town’s populace; some of which seem far too familiar and threatening for her comfort.

Almost equally as quickly, the isolated author begins to experience strange sounds and glimpses in the large farmhouse where she is staying.  Night after night, the visions and disturbances become more volatile and manifest themselves in increasingly violent outbursts...each one frightening Claire a little further.  But Claire is not the sort to cut and run, having drawn so much inspiration from her own suppressed dark past, and finds herself obsessed with unraveling the mystery of her supernatural visitors.  But when the apparitions take form, the story they are trying to tell becomes dangerous...not only threatening Claire’s mental health even further, but perhaps threatening her life as well.

Wisely, she chooses to seek a little help; turning to no-nonsense paranormal researcher Geoffrey Hunt (Forest Whitaker) for confirmation that she is dealing with something more than an overactive imagination and damaged psyche.  Together, the two of them begin to explore more deeply the mystery being played out in frantic late-night paranormal outbursts, as well as navigating through a cast of key citizens of this sleepy town who offer more in the way of animosity, disinformation and blatant hostility than they do in help.

With her mental stability, her life and a decades old mystery hanging in the balance, Claire will uncover more than she bargained for by the end of this film; proving once and for all that we should be careful what we wish for...or maybe that curiosity killed the cat...or maybe to let sleeping dogs lie...  Well, no matter; Claire and you, the viewer, will be learning a lot...

As stated previously, there isn’t much in the story or setting that screams originality; and in all actuality, both those elements will seem familiar and a tad bit cliché.  But the skill with which the material is handled and the technical expertise which is employed more than makes up for any reservations you might have for the formulaic (woo-hoo, there it is!) plot.  Also contributing much to the overall feel of this film are the fantastic special effects, which do credit to the familiar design of the ghostly antagonists.  Seriously folks, there are only so many little girl in nightgown ghosts and black-haired, black-eyed, blackened-teeth and cracked flesh ghosts I can handle.

In this case, our ghosts are as above, with two notable exceptions from the norm.  One, they look great as do all the supernatural effects...spooky, scary and not too over the top.  And two, they fit the story in every way...without the story being specifically written that way (i.e. all those Japanese ghost girls with white hand-me-down dresses and too much hair in their face).  In fact, there are lots of chills and creeps in this one, none of which go too far or exist simply for the sake of existing...and the considerable acting talent helps immensely in upping the fright factor.

Lead actress Gabrielle Anwar (Things To Do In Denver When Your Dead) does a fairly fine job of portraying a strong, yet disturbed, woman who cares more about unearthing the past then hiding from it; but it is her on-screen partner who really sells the situation.  If Forest Whitaker played the self-proclaimed paranormal researcher Hunt any other way, the character simply would not have worked...and the story would have failed with him.  Lucky for director Jordan Barker, Mr. Whitaker earned his Oscar this year for knowing innately what he needs to do to make his characters come through.  Here, he plays a man who could easily be a crackpot and acts the role so straight and with such a confidence in his character that we never have a chance to doubt him.

And while on the subject of turning talent into on-screen quality, director Barker should be commended.  As a television actor turned helmsman, Barker displays a command of narration that is beyond many of his contemporaries.  This is not to say that there weren’t a few dull spots on this polished piece, but so brightly shining was the rest that these few blemishes are not readily apparent.  All in all, The Marsh is a slick and cognizant work that surpasses the expectations of a director’s second film.

I doubt that anyone will be heralding The Marsh as a grand slam, but it is a solid enough hit that it will surely move Barker around the bases.  I do not hesitate to say that this film outshines many of its fellow genre works, many from directing talent with far more experience and praise under their belts.  For a straight to DVD release, this film is simply remarkable in its quality.  I look forward to things to come from this crew, applaud Forest Whitaker for recognizing a quality tale and lending it a hand, and recommend that you ignore what else you’ve heard and give this movie a look!

-aaron-