Dana (Kate Beckinsale), her husband David (Mel Raido) and their five-year-old son Lucas (Duncan Joiner) move from their home in the city to a stately manor in the countryside, hoping to restart their lives after facing a tragic loss. Architect Dana hopes that fixing up the house will keep her mind occupied and help her to cope with her grief. As she explores her massive new home, Dana discovers a hidden, locked room in the attic that is not on any of the floor plans. After talking with the local librarian she learns that it is a “disappointments room”, the place where embarrassed parents would lock away children born with disabilities, confining them to this small room for the rest of their short lives. Dana starts hearing strange noises and screams throughout the house and grounds, and comes in contact with the evil spirit of former homeowner Judge Blacker (Gerald McRaney), who orders her to leave. David soon questions his wife’s sanity, and she’s not entirely sure that she’s not delusional herself. What is real, and what is just a dream? Can Dana figure out before it’s too late and she or something else ends up harming someone she loves?

The Disappointments Room starts off like many other films in this genre—a family looking for a new start moves into an old house and starts to explore their strange new surroundings, only to discover that the house is haunted. This film does this well, building some nice tension as Dana discovers the room and makes her way inside—which gave me a few jump scares—as well as when she explores the wooded areas surrounding the property, starts seeing and hearing creatures and worries about the danger they pose to her son. The second act continues with this tension as Dana battles her own demons while also trying to figure out what transpired in this home almost a century earlier, and what exactly the spirits haunting the house want. The final act amps everything up even more as Dana begins to wonder what is real and what is not, and whether or not these spirits actually mean to do harm to her and her family.

While I think the film starts off really well, it kind of loses its way in the middle and never really establishes a great connection between the “disappointments room” and Dana’s own personal struggle/demons. Besides some tense moments and this overall concept of whether or not Dana is delusional, there really wasn’t much else to film. And I found the ending to be, well, a bit of a disappointment. The film itself is very limited in cast and setting. Most of the action takes place inside the house or on the surrounding grounds, which helps to give the movie a more claustrophobic feel. Besides her husband and son, the other person that Dana has contact with on a daily basis is local handyman Ben (Lucas Till), who’s constantly throwing her unwanted advances. I thought the actors did a great job with the material they were given, and any weaknesses were due to the story itself.

While there is no Blu-ray release of this film, the picture quality of the DVD still looks very good, providing a detailed picture with rich colors in both darker and lighter scenes. The audio track is excellent. Dialogue is clear, and the surround and stereo channels are utilized well to provide an immersive experience—in scenes where it was raining, outside I could hear the water all around me, and inside I could hear it hitting the ceiling, and could tell in which direction a pot was filling up with dripping water. Unfortunately this DVD release is very slim on bonus material, just offering the theatrical trailer and a 5-minute behind-the-scenes featurette that doesn’t even include any interviews with the main star of the movie. The disc is packed in a standard DVD case with no slipcover or inserts.

What’s Included:

Film: (1:25:11)

• 480p / Anamorphic Widescreen 2.39:1
• Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1
• Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish

Extras:

• Unwanted: Inside The Disappointments Room (4:38)
  Go behind-the-scenes with the cast and crew as they discuss the script, the reality behind the subject matter, the spookiness of the set/location/house, casting Kate Beckinsale, and more. Participants include actors Mel Raido (“David”), Lucas Till (“Ben”), Jennifer Leigh Mann (“Mrs. Blacker”), director D.J. Caruso, historian/documentarian Kim Quintal, co-producers Patrick Peach & Tony Grazia, and producer Vincent Newman.
• Theatrical Trailer (2:02)
• Sneak Peek (11:01)
  Play All or select from trailers for Morgan, The Lazarus Effect, Oculus, Poltergeist, and The Other Side of the Door.

Final Thoughts:

The Disappointments Room starts off very strong, setting up a creepy and interesting world and characters, and even had me jumping out of my seat a couple times. The acting is strong, but the story starts to lag and fall apart a bit in the middle, leading to a somewhat disappointing ending. Fans of the film will appreciate the DVD’s solid audio and video presentation, but unfortunately the disc only contains one short bonus feature. Those who are curious to check this out may wish to rent it first before a blind buy.