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Logic needs to be thrown completely out of the window when watching creepfest Within<\/em><\/a>. It\u2019s directed by Phil Claydon<\/a> of Lesbian Vampire Killers<\/em> <\/a>fame \u2013 the 2009 B-movie about lesbian vampires enslaving a village\u2019s womenfolk, only for unlikely heroes James Corden<\/a> and Mathew Horne<\/a> to come along and save the day. Indeed, this was well before Corden conquered Tinseltown with his celebrity carpools.<\/p>\n The point is to aim \u2018middle-ish\u2019 with Within and there\u2019s enough entertainment and \u2018look away now\u2019, jumpy bits to be had. In fact, the whole premise is nicely spun along, namely guessing whether the sinister situation is \u2018living\u2019 or \u2018supernatural\u2019 in cause. The Alexanders (Michael Vartan<\/a>, Nadine Velazquez<\/a> and Erin Moriarty<\/a>) move neighbourhood to a new house whose occupants have long gone, leaving a garage full of memories. Youngest member Hannah (Moriarty) has been grounded after a teenage party, and is given the task of clearing the boxes, all under the leering gaze of creepy locksmith neighbour Ray Walsh (Ronnie Gene Blevins<\/a>). However, while home alone, she begins to notice things out of place, noises from the attic and pictures falling off walls. What happened to the last residents? The Alexanders are soon to find out.<\/p>\n Within unashamedly takes effective bits from other horror classics but never attempts to reinvent the wheel. It feels like a carbon copy of many a modern American suburban \u2018haunting\u2019, complete with a good-looking cast in Moriarty, Velazquez, Blake Jenner<\/a> and Vartan (\u2018groom-in-the-middle\u2019 Kevin from Monster-in-Law<\/em><\/a>). There is even the horror obsession with youthfulness, with voyeuristic \u2018spying\u2019 shots through a crack in Hannah\u2019s bedroom door.<\/p>\n Captain Fantastic<\/em><\/a>\u2019s Moriarty is our guide as the mystery unfolds, bizarrely unfazed by strange occurrences and noises \u2013 like closet doors creaking open. Moriarty is convincing enough, though her character feels as restricted in her acting as she is in her movements while grounded. Things happen by numbers in this horror game, until we get to a Paranormal Activity<\/em><\/a> filming scene that ramps up the dread and injects new terror into proceedings. This is when the film gets interesting.<\/p>\n Once reality takes hold though, believability wanes because you question how a family living within these flimsy MDF four walls wouldn\u2019t begin to smell a rat (or body)? Admittedly, to keep up the reality-supernatural question means suspension of common-sense. Like all such horrors, as soon as the culprit is found out, things escalate at frightening speed, as though filmmakers Claydon and co are keen to get to the finale when they could have lulled us back into a false sense of security and really played with our minds. There was ample scope to do this and be clever about it.<\/p>\n That said, Within<\/em> does stay faithful to its genre and delivers the goods for fans of home hauntings. Indeed, there are two simultaneous threats that you know will converge; the question is when? This is the only \u2018difference\u2019 to the norm. There is even an eyebrow-raising \u2018fact\u2019 in the end credits that\u2019s designed to give substance to what Claydon and co have delivered. As a generic, \u2018leap out of your seat\u2019, popcorn-spilling offering\u00a0at the cinema, Within<\/em> ticks all the boxes \u2013 just don\u2019t expect to be challenged any further.<\/p>\n 3\/5 stars<\/strong><\/p>\n By @FilmGazer<\/p>\n