beorhhouse The actors were good. No problem there. The problem was in the script they were given, and in the direction they were given. The producers should be ashamed to put out as much as a dollar on this poorly-crafted "story."

Michael Ledo In the first scene Lucy "call me Lucinda" (Amberley Gridley) becomes an SUV hood ornament. A new family moves into town which includes Tess (don't call me Teresa) Ryan Simpkins. She is beyond moody. She suffers from "anxiety, depression, hallucinations and disruptive behavior disorder" all without having been married to a Scientologist. About an hour into the film, it shifts from a simple haunting to one count of possession.The film claims to be inspired by true events, so no one's head spins around. It is a slow building drama that borders on a Lifetime Film. Ryan gives us a different view of "possession" although possessed people still must have bad hair. Has some light scary moments.Guide: F-word. No sex or nudity.

HorrorOverEverything I'll start off by saying that this is a relatively slow paced film, there are lots of long scenes without dialogue and the usual things that happen in modern horror films are mostly set aside. There are a few scare scenes, but this is definitely not an in your face type of horror film. If you do not enjoy slow paced films then you will not like this.With that said, I really enjoyed this, it was such a great surprise. I really had no idea what to expect when I turned it on but the beginning instantly hooked me. From there the film does a great job of creating a very realistic atmosphere, it makes the theme of the movie almost seem plausible because it presents it so well. The story is told in a very soothing and almost calm way, which makes the horror elements really jump out when they are introduced. The acting was well done, the small cast all does a good & believable job. Everyone does kind of speak in the same mono toned fashion but when you consider how unhappy really everyone in the film is it makes sense for them to all be speaking that way. Overall I thought this was great. It takes the cliché possession theme and does something new & interesting with it. It's not going to be for everybody, but if you go into it expecting a slow paced heavy atmosphere type film then you will most likely be pleased.7/10

Andrew Gold I like slowburning horror movies. I like when the tension is constantly built up until you can't take it anymore. When subtle fears are highlighted instead of jump scares. That sort of thing I like. But there's a difference between a movie being slow paced and a movie being no-paced. Anguish is the latter. It's exhaustingly boring. It's basically a possession story about someone else's spirit trapped inside a girl's body and the movie revolves around her and her mother coping with it. And I appreciate what it's trying to do, focusing on the psychological angle as opposed to straight up scares. The problem is it misses the mark completely. There are chunks of this movie where absolutely nothing happens. Tess sitting down and looking at something, next scene, Tess walking around aimlessly, next scene, Tess sitting somewhere else, etc. It tries to build tension when there's no tension to be built. You're just waiting for something to happen - anything - and it never does. It even has the generic "inspired by true events" and perfunctory statistics before the movie starts, trying to excuse itself from the horridity, but it doesn't work. The music is frustrating, too. Going back and forth from bland indie acoustic songs to excruciating violins and of course the LOUD noises for when you're supposed to be scared. It's just annoying and frankly insulting to the audience.The only redeemable part of Anguish is the acting. It's surprisingly good, especially when the actors have to recite dialogue this terrible, so good on them. But in every other conceivable way, Anguish is an empty shell of a movie. The only thing it ensures is the anguish knowing you could have spent an hour and a half doing something better with your life.