Troubled writer Brittany Murphy (in one of her last movies), striving to flee her “old life” and get some work done, moves into an old, spacious, creepy New York house owned by a producer who lusts after her. Alone with her thoughts and only occasional visits from what may or may not be her lesbian lover (Tammy Blanchard), Murphy finds home videos made by the previous occupants, Marc Blucas and Thora Birch. While she gets wind that her dangerous ex is now out of jail and potentially after her, Blucas’ behavior toward the pregnant Birch in the unfolding videos gets more and more unhinged.

   In a movie that requires her to spend most of her screen time alone in a single house, Murphy gets a rare, unglamorous movie showcase. Sadly, her skinny, wasted, unhealthy appearance - far from the sexy curvy beauty seen in 8 MILE and SIN CITY - is all too obviously reflective of her rapid real-life decline, a decline that resulted in her death at 32 in December 2009. Still, there’s no denying that the emaciated, puffy-lipped actress absolutely looks the part of such a haunted, troubled character.

   The movie itself, while no great shakes, succeeds in generating a significantly creepy atmosphere from its old fashioned spooky-house set up, via prowling camerawork, an eerie, tinkly score, plus well worn but well used old clichés : faces in mirrors, mysterious footprints, figures hurrying past the camera.

   As soon as we realize that the back-story of video-obsessive / psychotically jealous Blucas (in a rare non-nice-guy role) mirrors that of Murphy’s recent traumas, the twist ending becomes obvious - though it’s still a tidy, efficient picture with eerie moments and good work from a cast of just four. It also has a pleasantly retro feel that recalls the post-SCREAM OF FEAR Hammer thrillers focused on psychologically unbalanced young heroines caught up in spooky but ultimately explicable situations.