Zotis' Film Watching Diary

The brutal scene towards the end reminded me of Monica Bellucci's performance in Malena. Of course the scene in Malena was infinitely better, more real, more brutal, better filmed, and better performed by Bellucci.

The brutal scene towards the end reminded me of Monica Bellucci's performance in Malena. Of course the scene in Malena was infinitely better, more real, more brutal, better filmed, and better performed by Bellucci.

What was the point of the haunting blood stain or the secret door in the basement?

What was the point of the haunting blood stain or the secret door in the basement?

Lawrence and Aranofsky said that she represented Mother Earth, but I felt like the house was Earth.

Lawrence and Aranofsky said that she represented Mother Earth, but I felt like the house was Earth.

The concept was that a ghost woman could only be seen in the dark and disappeared when the lights were turned on or whenever light was shone at her. If light was shone at her, the moment it was turned off she would reappear in the exact same place. After characters turned the lights on and off a few times she would turn and attack them. At times she seemed to have a real physical presence and her very existence was put into limbo by the light. If she moved and then the lights were turned on for a while, when they were turned back off she would be in the exact same posture and stage of motion. At other times when the lights were turned on, and/or she couldn't be seen, noises that she made could be heard such as footsteps, banging, scratching, even her voice. In a few scenes characters were able to follow the noises and they lead to her actual location. She could physically turn door nobs, grab people, kill people, and she seemed restrained by closed doors. At other times she seemed to be able to outright teleport. Something that was never clear was the way that lights would sometimes flicker, or the power would go out. A few times they show chewed lamp wires or missing light bulbs as if she needed to physically disable the lights, but at other times the power to entire buildings would go out as if she had the supernatural ability to disrupt electricity. If she could make the power to a whole building instantly go out, why did she need to remove light bulbs or cut wires (especially since they were in the same building prior to the power going out)? In other scenes she makes all the lights go out in a particular room and they go back on later. So why doesn't she use this power at other times? I couldn't tell if this was a power the woman had or if they were just making lights go out for dramatic effect. Either way they made no effort to explain it.

I was really confused about the ghost woman's physical capabilities. In one scene they showed her closing herself into a room in the house as if she resided there. Near that room was the boy's mother's room, and immediately after showing the ghost closing herself in the other room they showed the mother talking to her and her residing in the mother's room's closet. Later they showed the boy's sister try to open that room and it was locked. Then again they show the mother interacting with the ghost in her bedroom. So what was the second room? I was really confused by this. In one scene the boy and his sister were at the sister's apartment and there was a knock on the door. They opened the door to a hallway filled with light, and there was no one there (the ghost knocked on the door). So, apparently she could move around in the light and interact with physical objects like making noise on the door. So then why did she freeze at other times when the lights were turned on? I didn't get the feeling they put any thought into it, but that it was just for dramatic effect. Then after opening the door and there being no one there, they heard noises and the ghost went into their closet. It was as if the ghost needed them to open the door so it could physically gain entrance. Near the beginning of the movie though, a man runs away from the ghost, closes himself in a room, and then the ghost is in the room with him without needing to gain entrance physically.

So then towards the end of the film the protagonist finds a blacklight. The blacklight lets her see the ghost, and the ghost attacks her. She shines a regular flashlight at the ghost while the blacklight is on, and it burns the ghost and it runs away. So the flashlight that made the ghost disappear earlier doesn't make the ghost disappear but actually burns it if a blacklight is shone on it first. I found this incredibly stupid.

The concept was that a ghost woman could only be seen in the dark and disappeared when the lights were turned on or whenever light was shone at her. If light was shone at her, the moment it was turned off she would reappear in the exact same place. After characters turned the lights on and off a few times she would turn and attack them. At times she seemed to have a real physical presence and her very existence was put into limbo by the light. If she moved and then the lights were turned on for a while, when they were turned back off she would be in the exact same posture and stage of motion. At other times when the lights were turned on, and/or she couldn't be seen, noises that she made could be heard such as footsteps, banging, scratching, even her voice. In a few scenes characters were able to follow the noises and they lead to her actual location. She could physically turn door nobs, grab people, kill people, and she seemed restrained by closed doors. At other times she seemed to be able to outright teleport. Something that was never clear was the way that lights would sometimes flicker, or the power would go out. A few times they show chewed lamp wires or missing light bulbs as if she needed to physically disable the lights, but at other times the power to entire buildings would go out as if she had the supernatural ability to disrupt electricity. If she could make the power to a whole building instantly go out, why did she need to remove light bulbs or cut wires (especially since they were in the same building prior to the power going out)? In other scenes she makes all the lights go out in a particular room and they go back on later. So why doesn't she use this power at other times? I couldn't tell if this was a power the woman had or if they were just making lights go out for dramatic effect. Either way they made no effort to explain it.

I was really confused about the ghost woman's physical capabilities. In one scene they showed her closing herself into a room in the house as if she resided there. Near that room was the boy's mother's room, and immediately after showing the ghost closing herself in the other room they showed the mother talking to her and her residing in the mother's room's closet. Later they showed the boy's sister try to open that room and it was locked. Then again they show the mother interacting with the ghost in her bedroom. So what was the second room? I was really confused by this. In one scene the boy and his sister were at the sister's apartment and there was a knock on the door. They opened the door to a hallway filled with light, and there was no one there (the ghost knocked on the door). So, apparently she could move around in the light and interact with physical objects like making noise on the door. So then why did she freeze at other times when the lights were turned on? I didn't get the feeling they put any thought into it, but that it was just for dramatic effect. Then after opening the door and there being no one there, they heard noises and the ghost went into their closet. It was as if the ghost needed them to open the door so it could physically gain entrance. Near the beginning of the movie though, a man runs away from the ghost, closes himself in a room, and then the ghost is in the room with him without needing to gain entrance physically.

So then towards the end of the film the protagonist finds a blacklight. The blacklight lets her see the ghost, and the ghost attacks her. She shines a regular flashlight at the ghost while the blacklight is on, and it burns the ghost and it runs away. So the flashlight that made the ghost disappear earlier doesn't make the ghost disappear but actually burns it if a blacklight is shone on it first. I found this incredibly stupid.