This review may contain spoilers

50 years ago we meet a young girl called Lucinda. She looks a bit freaky and she hears voices talking to her. She comes up with the idea of making a time capsule to celebrate the opening of their new school. They all draw pictures to put in the case, but instead she writes a long string of numbers. The teachers, though confused, put the note in the capsule.

50 years later, John (Nicholas Cage, National Treasure) works at a uni where he teaches physics or something technical like that. His lesson discusses whether everything is just the results of billions of years of luck or whether there was some kind of plan - thus providing a purpose for life. His view is predominently of the former due to the untimely death of his wife.

His son, attends the local school where a time capsule is to be unearthed. His son gets a picture from inside, well, a long string of numbers.

Captivated by the number series he notices that one specific string matches the date of the 9/11 attacks and is followed by the number of deaths. Further investigation leads to the discovery that all the major catastrophes and their dates for the last 50 years are listed in the number series, including the death of his wife.

There are a few dates left, all in the next few weeks, but when his son starts hearing strange voices and creepy looking men start appearing in the shadows, things start getting scary.

Unlike The Day the Earth Stood Still which in many ways is similar, this film kept me guessing and creeped me out somewhat. Mystery surrounded the whole story and it was difficult to anticipate. It didn't fall into many of the cliches that these kinds of films fall into and it followed through to the logical conclusion which many films of this kind bail out of at the last minute.

The theme of the movie was that of accident versus fate. With the conclusion being drawn at the end, but with enough ambiguity at the end to leave you to make up your own mind as to what they're getting at.

In writing this review, it has made me appreciate the film more and I'm catious in what I write because I don't want to spoil the film for anyone who does see it. It is not an adrenaline filled action flick, though there are some nice action scenes, but there's something about it - just like the film Signs which makes it stand out.

I liked this film, freaky though it is.

see also:
The Woman in Black

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photo © Sumit Entertainment.