u/SFFThomas

So I just sat down and watched this. I will say that among Shudder’s found footage offerings, it certainly isn’t the best, but far from the worst. The movie put its location to excellent use, reminding us that there’s potentially nothing more terrifying than a deserted hospital. The script has a number of shortcomings I will get into, and it takes far too long to get to the scary stuff, although I think there were definitely some moments in the last 20 minutes that were top-tier. Overall, I found this more satisfying than Bodycam.

My criticisms mostly have to do with underdeveloped ideas. Lester hints at a vast lore regarding the history of the hospital, and all the people that were supposedly experimented on and/or killed there. But it’s just casually mentioned, never actually gone into. Towards the end Ed finds a notebook, hinting at some specific incidents that a more committed writer could have worked into the main story. As it is, the notebook is just something that he flips through for a minute or two, and then keeps running. So why even have it?

Other people have mentioned that Ed’s entire story of being some kind of elite Marine sniper in Afghanistan is obvious bullshit. I do think that is the story’s intention. The scene of Ed playing soldier in the cafeteria like he is LARPing Call of Duty indicates a kid whose life has a huge gap between who he is, and who he wishes he was. Perhaps taking the security guard job was an exercise and trying to prove to himself, he can be the tough guy he thinks he is. But again, the script doesn’t really develop Ed with any depth.

The movie telegraphs several of its scares, but a few were still effective, to be completely fair. We all know that the >!mannequins are eventually going to move around!<, but it is still insanely creepy when we see them actually do it.

Overall, I would give this a 5/10. With a few more passes on the script, offering both the characters and the lore of the hospital greater depth, this really could’ve been a keeper.