Based on the short film that premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, The Pact is an inventive and creatively driven film that challenges your mind as you attempt to piece together the clues to the unsettling life of Annie.
The film starts when Annie returns home to attend the funeral of a mother she lost admiration for years ago. The trip is a favor to her older sister, who is interestingly nowhere to be found come her arrival. While sleeping in her old bedroom, Annie begins to sense that something is off, ultimately enlisting the help of a local cop and clairvoyant to uncover the truth behind her mother's death.
Actress Caity Lotz plays heroine Annie to flawless perfection as she gives us a raw and authentic woman to cheer for. Her reactions are human, her emotions real, and her longing for an understanding is shared by everyone as we all earnestly await the story's conclusion.
But that reveal isn't given up easily. Perfecting the art of the slow build up, director Nicholas McCarthy cleverly mixes the elements of a supernatural thriller, a cop drama, and a haunted house mystery. The end result is anything but ordinary as Annie fights through her inner demons to bear witness to the mysteries and answers that lie behind each door.
The Pact is silently intense and dreadfully haunting. It is a simple story that excels thanks to its director and leading actress, both of whom help to ignite a concern for our leading character, ultimately forcing viewers to share a common interest in the overall story.
