Alien at the Movies

After a tragic accident kills her husband & paralyzes her stepson Steven, psychologist Mary Portman (Naomi Watts) becomes confined & isolated in her rural Maine home caring to the every needs of the catatonic 18 year old. Things begin to get creepy when her young deaf child patient Tom goes missing & is presumed dead. Her friend & colleague Dr. Wilson (Oliver Platt) becomes concerned when Mary recounts stories of insomnia, hearing noises in the house, & maybe sensing the presence of a ghost. The film is set up like a horror/supernatural tale with the usual fake jump scares as the audiences ponders whether Mary is hallucinating or is someone or something is actually lurking about the house. It is a quirky thriller as protagonist & antagonist battle it out with some collateral damage. Predictable with some holes in the plot.

Alien gives it 2 "hammer & frying pan" stars out of 4.