Film

What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases

Search cinema listings

Browse cinemas A-Z

Search 20,000 reviews

 

Spirit Trap (2005)

Director: David Smith

Average user rating
No reviews

Movie review

From Time Out London

A handful of students are naively chuffed to find themselves assigned to a run-down north London manor house where imposing staircase, creepy cellar, locked attic and blood-drenched history come as standard. Then nice guy Nick (Sam Troughton) has a rummage inside a mysterious old clock and things start to go bump in the night for him, troubled, sensitive Jenny (Billie Piper), distant, vampish Tina (Russian R&B singer Alsou), wide-boy dealer Tom (Luke Mably) and his arsey girlfriend Adele (Emma Catherwood). Despite restricting its action to this bijou version of the archetypal old, dark house, ‘Spirit Trap’ – which is more ghost yarn than slasher flick – struggles to achieve real claustrophobia. Former commercials director David Smith offers some eerily lit interiors and there are effective (if derivative) moments of perception-warping paradox or conscience-pricking visitation; there are even some Hideo Nakata-style waterworks. But the script’s lumbering pace, yawn-making backstory and cloth-eared dialogue prove too great an obstacle: credit to Troughton for managing to mumble Nick’s admission that he’s ‘not very good at small talk’ with a straight face.

Author: BW 2005-08-09 12:36:26

Time Out London Issue 1825: August 10-17, 2005


  • Print this page
  • Send to a friend

What do you think?
Post your review now

clear rating
Min 1 star. Zero stars will be treated as unrated.

*mandatory fields


Cast & crew

Director: David Smith

Producer: Susie Brooks-Smith

Cast: Billie Piper, Luke Mably, Emma Catherwood, Sam Troughton full cast

Genre(s): Horror

Rated: 15

Duration: 91 mins

UK Release: Aug 12 2005




Top Stories

Time Out's 101 Films of the Decade

Time Out's 101 Films of the Decade

Ten years, thousands of movies and millions of dollars in international box office, and it all boils down to this

Martin Provost discusses 'Séraphine'

Martin Provost discusses 'Séraphine'

Trevor Johnston talks to the director of 'Séraphine' about bringing a little known French painter back to life

Our verdict on Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones

Our verdict on Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones

Peter Jackson ends a triumphant decade with a sentimental misfire with this lush Alice Sebold adaptation

On the set of Ken Loach's 'Route Irish'

On the set of Ken Loach's 'Route Irish'

Dave Calhoun meets Ken Loach on the set of his forthcoming Iraq war movie

Stephen Poliakoff discusses 'Glorious 39'

Stephen Poliakoff discusses 'Glorious 39'

Stephen Poliakoff’s ‘Glorious 39’ is his first film for cinema since ‘Food of Love’ in 1997. Dave Calhoun met him

Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?

Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?

How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains

Steven Soderbergh on 'The Informant!' and 'The Girlfriend Experience'

Steven Soderbergh on 'The Informant!' and 'The Girlfriend Experience'

We talk to Steven Soderbergh about his two forthcoming films: one featuring a porn star, the other a chubby Matt Damon

A gateway to all things 'New Moon'

A gateway to all things 'New Moon'

In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.

The films that deserve a TV spin-off

The films that deserve a TV spin-off

With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations

Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam

Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam

In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations