Shelter
Cara Jessup is a well-respected forensic psychiatrist who is convinced there is no such thing as a multiple personalities disorder. However, her conviction gets shaken up when her father, Dr. Harding, introduces her to David Bernburg. David seems to have another personality inside him called Adam, and the differences between both men go even further than just behaviour; while David is restrained to a wheelchair, Adam is capable of walking around without any issue.
As Cara starts investigating the background of David/Adam, she slowly but steadily finds out that this is not just someone with multiple personalities but that there’s something going on that not only will shake up her beliefs but also threatens her entire family.
Sound and Vision:
Shelter looks grey and dreary but does have strong elements of color stand out. Contrast levels are high and blacks are deep and inky. Transfer issues are not present and although the movie doesn’t look nice, it’s technically pretty decent.
The soundtrack is perfect for the genre with environment sounds coming from all channels, creating an exciting atmosphere while the subwoofer provides enough bass and dialogues never get overwhelmed. Good stuff.
Extras:
None
Conclusion:
Shelter is created by the makers of The Ring and written by the guy who’s also responsible for Identity. With that in mind, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that many of the elements found in this film seem quite familiar. They are as Shelter is a bit of a combination of above mentioned movies, added with a snuff of religion and Paranormal Activity.
The cast does quite a decent job with the material at hand, but there are quite some inconsistencies present and the whole plot twist regarding the voodoo curse that punishes you when not believing in God is quite the downer. It just doesn’t make much sense.
Still, if you don’t mind that, the first half of the movie is actually pretty good and if you don’t think about it too much you’ll probably enjoy it. Even if it isn’t one of the better movies in its genre, the acting uplifts it just above average.
6.0