Thora Birch Movie:

Editorial Review:
Alice (Brittany Murphy), an artist recovering from a psychological breakdown, retreats to a remote Victorian house to convalesce and focus on finishing her screenplay in time for a fast approaching deadline. When she begins hearing strange sounds and seeing apparitions, Alice searches for the source, only to find disturbing videotapes in the attic. Fascinated by her discovery, Alice digs deeper to uncover the mysterious story of the couple (Thora Birch and Marc Blucas) on the tapes, sending her on a twisting and terrifying pursuit to find out what is behind the endless mind games.

Deadline Reviews:
Fast-paced, thrilling, and engaging film! Brittany Murphy is an incredible actor!
2009-12-17 - As a disclaimer, I have to admit that I didn't watch this movie all the way through. Much like another of my favorite movies, the 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead, the first 20 minutes are such an amazingly fast and thrilling ride that it is almost enough to stand on its own as a film. I think I rewatched the first 20 minutes 5 or 6 times because it was so crazily awesome, and I swear to you that I noticed something new each time!

Brittany Murphy really shines in this film. She plays a struggling writer who, despite hardships, is vibrant, optimistic, and just a joy to watch on the screen. Whoever was the stylist for this film was seriously talented, because she looked great, too! She's such a role model for young women everywhere. And so talented! She seriously BECAME Alice, the main character of this movie.

I do have to warn you, this movie will BLOW YOUR MIND. I don't want to post any spoilers, but you might think you know what's going to happen next, but you don't! Everything in the movie, from the setting to the spooky happenings, is full of really unique twists and unpredictable occurrences. Seriously, if you love horror movies or thrillers, you will LOVE this.

As for the reviewer who claims that this movie exists for man-hating...you so TOTALLY DO NOT GET THIS MOVIE. It has nothing to do with man-hating or feminism. It has to do with the semanticist paradigm of context to denote, not sublimation as such, but postsublimation. The core theme of this film is that the raison d'etre of the artist is deconstruction.

Duh.

not about man-hating...
2009-12-14 - ***** spoiler alert (maybe)******

Whoever called this a man-hating movie didn't watch it through to the end (or else didn't understand it). It is really more of a psychological thriller about sanity and the blending of reality and imagination. I was unsure until the very end what was really going on (which makes me happy as so many movies are too easy to see through). I found it spooky and interesting. I won't say any more as I don't want to spoil it for others who like having to figure things out.....

MAN-HATING MOVIE. THORA BIRCH'S TRADEMARK.
2009-12-13 - What started out as a decent gothic atmospheric film quickly turns into yet ANOTHER 'Lifetime' channel "Man-Hating" movie about a husband who is considered a creep for wanting to cuddle with his wife while she paints furniture! This movie is really disgusting in how it portrays menace in everyday flirtations with his wife played by Thora Birch. Well, now it's official. Birch seems incapable of accepting a script that doesn't contain a huge amount of man-hating! What's amazing is that her career began with her being voyeuristically videotaped by her neighbor in 'American Beauty' where her character enjoyed being recorded for the guy's pleasure. Now, in this movie a simple scene of a husband videotaping his wife washing the dishes and admiring her beauty in a playful way is turned into something sick and menacing by the sweet but suddenly cold and rude Birch who seems intent on turning everything her husband does into a negative thing. It's really twisted how the script writers turn a charming decent guy into a monster for the sake of horrifying women into being single. This is some ugly stuff folks. If you want to watch a seemingly sweet wife suddenly becoming cold to her husband for an entire movie for no reason only to have the guy suddenly become evil and supposedly justify her coldness then just turn on the 'Lifetime' channel. However, If you're looking for a solid scary horror movie you won't find it here. What started out as an interesting movie that showed promise ends up being hijacked by man-hating f3minists and repeatedly hits you over the head with its rudeness for the rest of the movie.

Strictly a Genre Flick
2009-12-07 - "Deadline" is a dark atmospheric thriller, recalling "Skeleton Key" and "A Haunting." Brittany Murphy plays a somewhat young and out-of-sorts artist who moves into a large, empty house with a dark creepy past. She moves there alone, conveniently, to escape a past abusive boyfriend.

ALl goes well for a few hours, then strange noises begin to happen. Objects move about with no explanation. Video footage of the young couple who once lived in the house is found by Murphy in the attic of the house. It is eventually revealed in flashbacks that there was some sinister activities in the house in the years that had passed. Surprise!! The 'twist' in the end is not much of a twist at all, and Murphy looks spaced out and dazed throughout the film (kind of how she looked in "Don't say a Word," only a decade or so older.) Needless to say, this role is no stretch for Murphy.

Thora Birch is creepy and believable as the ghost woman in the flashbacks, and her performance creates an eerie, tense mood that make the film a worthwhile rental for fans of this genre, but not much more.