In 1953, Elise Rainier lives with her loving mother, her abusive prison guard father, and her young brother Christian next to the prison. Her father beats her for claiming to see the dead and locks her in the basement. She unlocks a forbidding red door allowing a demon to escape and getting her mother killed. In 2010 California, Elise Rainier (Lin Shaye) fights paranormal demons with Specs and Tucker. She gets a call for help from Ted Garza who lives in her childhood home in New Mexico. She reluctantly goes home and finds her estranged angry brother Christian (Bruce Davison) with two daughters Imogen (Caitlin Gerard) and Melissa (Spencer Locke).
There are some issues with clarity. This starts with the flashback to her childhood home. In retrospect, it doesn't make sense that her father would lock her in the basement so that she could easily find the secret entrance to the dungeon. The house layout is never that clear with a question of how the kids wouldn't figure things out sooner over the many years. The same can be said about Garza. Why would he call Elise for help unless he wants to be discovered? Is it self-sabotage? There is a great reveal but it needs to be the central take. It's all a bit messy. As for the characters, I like Elise but not the boys especially Tucker. The girls are fine. I do like The Further but I don't get why Imogen has to throw the whistle to Elise. Couldn't Imogen blow it herself? It's a lot of nagging little questions. In the end, I like it more than I have problems.
There are some issues with clarity. This starts with the flashback to her childhood home. In retrospect, it doesn't make sense that her father would lock her in the basement so that she could easily find the secret entrance to the dungeon. The house layout is never that clear with a question of how the kids wouldn't figure things out sooner over the many years. The same can be said about Garza. Why would he call Elise for help unless he wants to be discovered? Is it self-sabotage? There is a great reveal but it needs to be the central take. It's all a bit messy. As for the characters, I like Elise but not the boys especially Tucker. The girls are fine. I do like The Further but I don't get why Imogen has to throw the whistle to Elise. Couldn't Imogen blow it herself? It's a lot of nagging little questions. In the end, I like it more than I have problems.