It should be said that this is not a very successful horror film. It is not only because of the habits and traces of the monsters that the film reveals prematurely, but also makes the whole film less mysterious. More importantly, the image of the little girl in the play seems too gloomy. This is not to say that the little actor Bailee Madison did not perform well, but the portrayal of the little girl in the script is hard to believe that she is weak and innocent. Although in the film, the evil is the monsters who slip out of the fireplace, and the little girl is always in a position where her life is threatened by the monsters at any time. However, watching the entire film always feels uncomfortable. The reason is that the development of the whole story is more like a vengeance imagined by a little girl.
First of all, on the way to meet her father, Sally showed her slightly dark fantasy ability. On the plane and in the car, she kept drawing suffocating swirling pictures. The subsequent appearance of Kim made Sally feel uncomfortable. In her eyes, it was the woman who caused her parents to divorce and take possession of her father. Her hatred for Jin can be felt directly from her questioning whether her father will marry Jin. It can be seen that in Sally's heart, Jin destroyed the family she once owned. Then, she guided people to discover the basement step by step, and eventually caused the monsters in the fireplace to escape and harm. And every step is led by Sally. Afterwards, the monsters stole Alex's razor and smashed Jin's clothes hanging in the closet. Sally was wronged for this and her father blamed her. However, this scene does not make sense logically. If the monsters are going to attack Sally, why should they not directly or wait for the opportunity to attack Sally after stealing the razor, but spend a lot of time to smash Jin's clothes?
In the back, it is the diagnosis and treatment of her by the psychologist. From her dialogue and performance with the psychologist, it can be seen that Sally is a depressed child. She felt deeply hurt inside. Although the monsters had several chances to start, they failed. On the contrary, Sally's screams can attract the attention of adults at the most critical moment every time. So as to take care of her as much as possible. Although Sally's relationship with Kim seems to have improved, it is more like Sally's way of gaining gold's trust and compassion. After all, in the end, Kim died in order to save Sally, and Sally and her father were able to retreat.
If the whole movie is interpreted as a little girl's subconscious mind, then those logical deficiencies can be explained clearly. Because the monsters were originally the tools Sally imagined to avenge Kim. This also explains why Sally found a way to release the monsters at every step. In the same way, this also explains why the old craftsmen in the play are seriously injured by the monsters. Because what the old craftsman did just prevented Sally from releasing the monster. And Jin's death also allowed her to get more love and attention from her father. Even more frightening is that throughout the incident, the little girl always appeared in the image of an innocent person. At the end of the film, when Sally and her father replayed the old house, we could no longer see the gloom on her face. It was replaced by a weird smile.
The girl's subconscious murder also explains why the monsters are afraid of light. Because they are the ugly demons in Sally's heart.
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