FRIGHT FEST: I AM THE PRETTY THING THAT LIVES IN THE HOUSE

In I Am The Pretty Thing That Lives In The House ( or Pretty Thing for short), stay-at-home nurse Lily (Ruth Wilson) takes on the job of caring for aging and senile mystery/horror author Iris Blum (Paula Prentis). In her dementia, Iris thinks that Lily is actually Polly (Lucy Boynton), a ghostly character from one of her novels. During her stay, Lily begins to suspect that Polly may actually have been based on a real person and maybe Iris' house is actually haunted.

I Am The Pretty Thing That Lives In The House is a throwback to old-fashioned, classic, atmospheric ghost stories. That said, it's told from quite a different perspective: That of the ghost. I'm not going to say much else for fear of ruining anything, except to say that I loved this new, creative twist. It actually makes the whole affair somewhat unsettling to watch. This is Osgood Perkin's second directorial/writing effort (His first being the impressive and frightening Blackcoat's Daughter, which wasn't really for me), and I'd say he does a pretty great job at both. It's not really frightening, but it does succeed at putting you on edge and getting you creeped out throughout.

Pretty Thing is well-acted by it's main lead, Ruth Wilson. She manages to make her Lily a likable, attractive character (and yes, she is mighty pretty too). Paula Prentis and Lucy Boynton aren't given much to do. Prentis gets a great, creepy monologue and Lucy Boynton is relegated to wandering around and is turned into the film's weakest effect. Luckily, the atmosphere is pretty strong and the film itself is superbly written. Pretty Thing is a film that focuses a good deal on novels and books, so it's only appropriate that it is written like a novel itself. Expect long, sprawling, detail-filled bits of narration. I suppose some may find this annoying, I absolutely loved it.

As I said before, Pretty Thing isn't really all that scary of a film. The ending is also not the strongest, though it fits for what the film is going for. Luckily it makes up for its few flaws with a rich atmosphere, a strong script, a great leading lady. All things considered, Pretty Thing is a fairly effective film. If you love spooky, slow ghost stories then I Am The Pretty Thing That Lives In The House is a new one that is sure to satisfy around the haunting season.

3.5 STARS