Edgar Allen Poe had barely begun to write his final work, on which this film is based before he passed away. Here, the talented Benjamin Cooper takes hold of the bare bones of the story and turns it into a sedately paced 88-minute film. Although achieved on a modest budget, the results are far from impoverished, and prove to be highly enjoyable - more than I expected.
JP (Matt O’Neill) finds himself washed up on an island, where he sees the apparition of a young woman. He's looked after by gruff lighthouse keeper Walsh (Vernon Wells). "I'll always keep a light burning during the night," he promises.
From here on in, we're treated to secrets, wraiths, apparitions, mysterious fever dreams, and a finale that only tells us what it wants us to know. This is a carefully made horror pot-boiler which may lack spectacle but tells a richly atmospheric tale very well. My score is 9 out of 10.