PrimeWire

As the mother of an autistic little boy of the same age as the boy in tue film, I know firsthand how difficult it can be to communicate and relate since they use other means to do so. My sweet boy is very “fluent” in body language and his emotional IQ is through the roof. Speech therapy was only 1 of 4 therapies we do on a biweekly bases. It is also his least favorite and one we’ve seen very little progress. Knowing this must frustrate him to no end being unable to communicate, I understood why he’d resort to temper tantrums. I’ve had meltdowns over something as trivial as a lagging cell phone screen and been known to throw it out of windows. Imagining how his issues must haunt him relentlessly so when he was 2 yrs old, I decided to try American sign language. I learned how to sign words like “hungry” and “more”. Less than a week later, I finally witnessed his first words.. He looked up and signed the word “more” to ask for another cookie. Yes, I burst into tears and clapped and made a big deal of it. I had never been happier! This movie reminded me of all the hard work we’ve put in over the years. While it is a horror movie, it was also so very touching especially the last 15 min. I loved the ending and for me, it was the perfect touch. Other high points is the fact you DO see the creepy monster and it’s not all shadow play and jump scares.. Huge plus! They pulled off a successful thriller without the need to pepper it with crude humor, bad language or nudity. Perfect watch for families with young teens. The only fault for me was that it was too slow in the beginning but if given the chance, it has a highly rewarding payoff.. 4/5 or 7/10