Mary ★★★

I JUST don’t get Gary Oldman.

Occasionally he’s on top of the acting world with great performances in quality dramas like The Darkest Hour and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.

But most of the time he is content to play the villainous caricature in non-taxing genre pieces like Hunter, Killer and The Hitman’s Bodyguard.

It can’t be a case of liking the challenge or variety – because there isn’t much. Maybe it’s the travel, the money, boredom or just plain poor role choices?

One of his latest – he makes 3-4 films every year – is the horror/mystery Mary.

The story of a family terrorised by the evil spirit inhabiting a cursed boat is actually a well-made film, just not the type of role you’d expect to feature Oldman.

I wouldn’t mind if his performance elevated the film, but he just does a serviceable job, along with the rest of the cast.

The person who does elevate the film is director Michael Goi who demonstrates a good use of camera angles and lighting within the restrictive space, the majority of the events taking place in the boat on the ocean.

There are several, well-timed jump scares amidst a disorienting presentation, but the film does suffer from an ending that fails to live up to the earlier promise.

The decision to recount the events in flashback usually means you intend to deliver a present-time, final pay-off, but this one definitely underwhelms.

Oldman plays David Greer, a tour boat skipper in coastal Florida, who dreams of having his own boat and business.

He comes across a battered old clipper that seems to be ‘calling to him’ and makes the rash decision to buy it, much to the annoyance of his wife Sarah, played by Emily Mortimer.

There is another source of tension between the pair that Anthony Jaswinski’s script fails to fully develop in a way that Could have enhanced the drama.

David and Sarah set off on a trial run of the renovated vessel with their two daughters, one of their boyfriends and David’s regular ship mate.

What we already know, because the story is being told in flashback by one of the characters, is that the boat has a dark history allegedly due to the spirit of a vengeful witch who invades minds and turns people against each other.

The idea is good but, again, the script doesn’t present the origin story well enough. For example, the witch is meant to target men, much like an evil siren, but the youngest daughter is impacted just as much.

The main strength of the film is in its direction and it’s definitely still worth horror fans taking a look.