Filipe Neto This film begins in a rather uncharacteristic way: a young girl who is a screenwriter and is trying to recover from a destructive love relationship decides to isolate herself in an old and remote mansion in order to be able to finish a new script within the deadlines. However, the house hides a mystery surrounding the previous tenants who will tinker with her head. Okay, nothing new here. It's the usual light horror thriller, blending "haunted house" with "psychopathic killer coming to kill the girl", seasoned with "found footage" and served with such a lack of originality that it becomes very predictable and lacks any tension or suspense. How am I going to feel tense or stay tuned to the screen if I know what's going to happen? Things get better when the story of Lucy, the previous inhabitant, begins to develop, giving a dramatic and human touch to a story very empty until then. In a way, we are more able to care for Thora Birch's character than the main one, played by Brittany Murphy. Another problem is the tremendous slow pace, as if the director wanted to "fill the sausage" just to get a movie lasting more than an hour. Combine that with the predictability I've mentioned and you'll understand that it turns out to be boring most of the time. As for the cast, Brittany Murphy does not surprise me or show great interpretive ability (she was never close to being a great actress and the tabloid news about her death can be more interesting than her filmography), Birch complied with which was required of her, but didn't particularly shine. It's not worth talking about Marc Blucas, who played a papier-mâché villain.

peterroeder34 I don't mind bad movies if they are funny or make sense in some way but this movie is really bad storytelling. It really makes a mockery of everything a Hitchcock or a Poe stand for. I wanted to like this movie because of Brittany Murphy co-star of 8mile but the rest of the movie is just so bad that she has no chance of saving it. Especially the story within the story is a real insult to the intelligence of the viewer and the actors are playing it with strictly phony feelings. Moreover, the plot avoids all chances of a good plot twist and runs perfectly predictable and really tries not to be too scary or profound in any way. This movie is a good example of very bad storytelling.

Spikeopath Deadline is written and directed by Sean McConville. It stars Brittany Murphy, Thora Birch and Marc Blucas. Music is by Carlos José Alvarez and cinematography by Ross Richardson.Recovering from a psychological breakdown and required to finish a screenplay for a deadline, writer Alice Evans (Murphy) retreats to a remote Victorian house. Once there, though, mysterious goings on begin to accompany her. Undetered, Alice begins to unravel the terrible secrets of the house. But at what cost?One of the last films made by Brittany Murphy before her sad and untimely death, Deadline (poor title) is mostly friendless in the world of the haunted house sub-genre. Yet in spite of its flaws and tired old set up of premise, it's hardly one of the worst of its kind. It's all very low key and thriving on moody mystery atmosphere, both things which are aided by better than average music scoring and photography. Performances by the cast, in what is purely a six character piece, are very committed, managing to make the thin script more palatable. There's a couple of jolts placed within, while the scenes involving Birch and a clearly unhinged Blucas are genuinely creepy.Its reputation tells us that it's just too low key for some, and for sure it brings nothing new at all to a well populated formula. While the outcome is infuriating and has proved to be unforgivable for many a sub-genre fan. But with expectations set at low this rounds out as a decent enough time filler for those who like atmosphere laden haunted house pictures. 6/10

petros30678 Well i watched it a couple of days ago. I thought i was going to see a thriller, maybe with a twist or too. What a waste of time. What a piece of crap. I am sorry Brittany Murphy (RIP) but you could do much better than this. No wonder why it went straight to DVD. Don't waste an hour and a half of your life people. The story is awful and the characters are not the ones you can relate too. Nothing in this movie seems to get it right. Also Brittany Murphy seems to be not in her best. I don't know what was going on in her mind when she agreed to star in this movie. And the rest of the cast is not in it's best i think. The only reason i to see this movie is if you are a fan of Murphy, although i don't think this movie does her justice. The only thing i found a little interesting is the cinematography. I saw some good looking shots throughout the movie. All and all, a movie to avoid.