I can’t blame the wife Maggie (Mamie Gummer “Ricki and the Flash”, “The Right Stuff”) for thinking her husband Jeff (Rupert Friend “Hitman: Agent 47”) is irresponsible.   He always seemed to be in a daze all the time—his mind only thinking of ideas for his past graphic novel career to the detriment of his wife and young female child Jenny (Violet McGraw “Black Widow”, “Doctor Sleep”, “Ready Player One”).

For instance, at his wife’s wake, he sees his face on a family portrait catch fire but stands there stunned.  If left to him, the house would have burned down around his guests.  Thank God for his daughter’s babysitter Samantha Nally (Madeline Brewer “Hemlock Grove”) who put the fire out with a fire extinguisher. 

But I believe the father-in-law Mr. Rivers (veteran Scottish actor Brian Cox “Red”, “Red 2”, “Red 3”) turned the wife against her husband by talking in her ear all the time.   And the babysitter (opare?) always seemed focused on the father’s artistic talents rather than his child.

Every time the husband sees strange events like the demonic loose-limbed Marcel Marceau-type mime Nerezza (non-CGI uncredited Troy James) a duplicate of one of the characters from his old graphic novel and doll on his daughter’s bedroom shelf, he just keeps backing up and acting like it never happened and tells no one.   The father burns breakfast for himself and his child  when they both see something else strange.   But isn’t that something he should tell somebody?   A lot of these happenings he thinks are dreams, but it turns out they are not.  

The father runs away leaving his little girl with the babysitter with no explanation.  Taking the subway (demon scene there also), he went to his friend’s new job site.   He finally gets a job but stays away all day without telling the babysitter.   An employer Alan (Simon Quarterman “WER”) tells him there is a “dark energy about you”.  

The acting was superb.   I assumed they all did what the director wanted, but there is a disconnect somewhere in the script.   The little girl’s father couldn’t be that dumb.

(Spoiler) The villains:  the father-in-law, the babysitter, the dolls made from his prior graphic horror novel, mommy and demon mommy, and the father himself.   The husband and daughter finally make peace with demon mommy and all should be well.  But, when the mommy demon returned from demon town, she must have let other demons through.   No way should they have a sequel after this but the Marcel Marceau mime type loose-limbed horror returns practically begging for a sequel.

Directed by William Brent Bell.   Writers Nick Amadeus, Josh Braun.

Written by Rosa L. Griffin