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In this hare-brained chiller, an afflicted young man returns home to confront the nightmare of the title. Fifteen years earlier, Tim (Barry Watson of 7th Heaven) claimed the boogeyman had abducted his father. The case was dismissed as one of abandonment, and the boy was placed under psychological care. Yet for all his fear of dark rooms and closet doors left ajar, Tim has made a pretty good go of things. He has a high-powered job in the city and an adoring girlfriend (Tory Mussett) with the looks and the money of Paris Hilton. What makes him risk it all is ill explained. But eventually, after a myriad of false scares and foreboding omens, Tim returns to the old farmhouse, now in disrepair and creaking like a tall ship on rough seas. What happens next is a Freddy Krueger rehash, with Tim falling through closet floors and freaky alternative realities. Director Stephen T. Kay knows how to get under your skin, and Watson nails the internal-turmoil bit, but it’s still just a one-trick pony that comes up lame long before the insipid climax. (86 minutes)
BY TOM MEEK
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