John Chard

Stephanie's World. A young girl is left alone to hide from malevolent forces that stalk her in the family home. Her parents eventually return and the struggle begins to save their daughter. Worryingly withdrawn from theatre release by the distributors, Stephanie was resigned to home format releases only. Which while hardly being a film that deserved a theatrical run - or indeed a must see horror - is still a shame because it's a very tidy little chiller. Mood is nicely set by the opening where a young Shree Crooks (Stephanie) goes about her daily life alone in the house - her only companion a cuddly toy turtle. There's a sense of disquiet, the feeling that something bad is going to happen. Shadows and supernatural incidents compound the "child in dread" vibe, while an observation of articles in the house hint at what has brought the young girl to her situation. Once the parents arrive on the scene we get further strange occurrences and strange motifs, little hints as to what has happened. Director Akiva Goldsman does a fine job on what is obviously a limited budget, managing to create some quality horror sequences whilst maintaining suspense in a three character piece. There's a loose end or two that is intriguing but annoyingly so, and a sense of frustration with the resolution has proved to be a divisive topic (isn't it nearly always the case in horror anyway?). However, this is well worth a watch for the horror mystery fan whose prepared to accept it on its own "keeping the wheel" turning terms. 6.5/10