Suspended Animation (2002)

52% of critics liked it
(25 reviews)
32% of users liked it
(189 ratings)

After an unnerving brush with death, a filmmaker finds that his ordeal isn't quite over in this modestly budgeted horror movie. Tom Kempton (Alex McArthur) is a successful animator who wants to get away from the hustle and bustle of Hollywood for a while. He joins several friends for a vacation in… More After an unnerving brush with death, a filmmaker finds that his ordeal isn't quite over in this modestly budgeted horror movie. Tom Kempton (Alex McArthur) is a successful animator who wants to get away from the hustle and bustle of Hollywood for a while. He joins several friends for a vacation in Northern Michigan, where they rent snowmobiles to make the most of the snowy winter weather. Kempton gets separated from his friends while exploring the slopes and soon finds himself lost; looking for shelter, he takes refuge in a small cabin, only to discover it's inhabited by Vanessa Boulette (Laura Esterman) and her sister Ann (Sage Allen), a pair of elderly siblings with a feeble hold on reality and a taste for human flesh. Captured and tortured by the Boulette sisters, Kempton is saved at the last minute, but the experience makes a deep impression on him and he uses his fearsome experience as the basis for his next project. Even though Kempton has been reassured that the Boulette sisters died in their showdown with the authorities, he's convinced the threat isn't gone, and it turns out he's right -- one of the sisters had a bastard daughter which was put up for adoption, and her son now displays many of the same psychotic tendencies as his grandmother. Suspended Animation marked a return to the horror genre for director John D. Hancock, who in 1971 made the cult favorite Let's Scare Jessica to Death. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 54 min.
Directed By: John D. Hancock
Written By: Dorothy Tristan
Genres: Mystery & Suspense, Horror

In Theaters: Dec 25, 2001 Wide
On DVD: Mar 23, 2004
Studio: First Run Features

Critic Reviews

Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News
Since the movie's sensibility ranges from the preposterous to the absurd, there are few genuine frights.
Dave Kehr, New York Times
A sturdy, well-made piece that never quite overcomes its structural flaws.
Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times
It has pace and variety and, best of all, it consistently has the courage of its imaginative and daring screenplay.
Ellen Fox, Chicago Tribune
Feels a lot like two different Hancock jobs stitched together.
Scott Brown, Entertainment Weekly
Describing what's bad about this movie is like describing what's orange about an orange, but suffice it to say that the best performance is given by a crucified raccoon.
Edward Crouse, Village Voice
Alternately tense and cheesy, Suspended Animation returns its director, John Hancock, to the blood-soaked turf he spaded 30 years ago with his ageless nail-biter Let's Scare Jessica to Death.
Pablo Villaca, Cinema em Cena
O roteiro surpreende ao fugir do convencional e trocar o suspense pelo drama, oferecendo, no processo, ótimas atuações (especialmente de Esterman).
Ed Gonzalez, Slant Magazine
Think Let's Scare Jessica to Death by way of Misery. "Twin Peaks" fans will want to pass.
Peter Debruge, Premiere Magazine
These twisted sisters rank among horror's most bizarro murderesses.
Jeremiah Kipp, Filmcritic.com
Somewhere between a nighttime soap opera and an EC Horror comic book...
Tim Cogshell, Boxoffice Magazine
It's not a masterpiece, but it's effective.
Eric Monder, Film Journal International
Not great but mildly absorbing, Suspended Animation suffices for an evening's entertainment.
, E! Online
Piece of junk.
MaryAnn Johanson, Flick Filosopher
[P]oorly conceived, badly acted...
Erik Childress, eFilmCritic.com
The film is like vomiting and then expecting your shoes to come out of your mouth. Neither is a pleasant experience, but on some level it has to be seen to be believed.
Maitland McDonagh, TV Guide's Movie Guide
If the third-act denoument is predictable, the film has already delivered more twists than the average genre picture.
Ron Stringer, L.A. Weekly
The devil -- and the delight -- here is in the detours.
David Sterritt, Christian Science Monitor
Although overlong, the picture has a fair measure of jolts and surprises.
Michael Phillips, Citysearch
Anyone who's seen a horror movie in the last 20 years will frequently know what's going to happen next.

Read all 19 critic reviews

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Cast

Sage Allen
as Ann Boulette
Laura Esterman
as Vanessa Boulette
J.E. Freeman
as Philip Boulette

Rebecca Harrell
as Hilary Kempton
Alex McArthur
as Tom Kempton
Daniel Riordan
as Jack Starr

See full cast

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