Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on February 2013

Rodrigo Cortés did a lot with a little in 2010’s Buried, but here the reverse is true. Starts out great, creating a wonderfully brooding atmosphere that promises an engaging supernatural thriller. Sigourney Weaver and Cillian Murphy are paranormal debunkers who have been able to shut down all charlatans but one, a blind celebrity mentalist spoon-bender played slyly by Robert De Niro. The setup is deliciously engaging, well acted and intriguing. Then it’s like you left the theater and wandered back into the wrong one, so completely does it reset its own rules and self-implode in the second half.