The Pact

I finally got around to seeing The Pact. It took me long enough. Considering my love for ghosts and haunted houses, plus the rave reviews it’s gotten, I should have gotten to it sooner, but better late than never. This quiet little horror film is one of the most underrated movies to have come out in the past 20 years, and I’d like recommend that everyone who hasn’t given it a watch yet do so as soon as possible.

 The Pact concerns two sisters returning to their mother’s house in the wake of her death. It’s immediately clear that the women bear little love for their deceased mother. It seems she was horrifically abusive in her lifetime, and the sisters still bear the scars. Oldest sister Nichole (Agnes Bruckner) returns to their mother’s house first. Annie (the wonderful Caity Lotz, Sarah Lance from the Arrowverse - she also starred in the underrated horror comedy show, Death Valley), however, initially refuses to return, but is forced to when Nichole goes missing. When Annie has an encounter with an invisible attacker, and her cousin also disappears from the house, she begins investigating her mother’s past with the help of an understated Casper Van Dien, playing against type.

The first thing I want to praise this film on is in its depictions of survivors of abuse. Annie’s reluctance to return to her mother’s house where she has so many bad memories is very believable. Childhood abuse leaves mental and emotional scars that don’t go away, and Lotz is excellent in her depiction of a woman made both bitter and untrusting due to her past.

    

The Pact is also excellent in its buildup of tension as the solution to its core mysteries (Who is the ghost? What does it want? What happened to Nichole and her cousin?) comes together piece by piece. Like I mentioned earlier, this is a quiet horror film, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t genuinely unnerving moments that occasionally made me jump.

Definitely check this one out if you love slow burn horror or haunted houses, or are just a fan of the incredible Lotz. She turns in a standout performance. I can’t believe it took me so long to see this fantastic film. If you’ve made the same mistake and missed out, watch it now. You won’t regret it.