Rosewood Lane Movie Review

Rating: R
Runtime: 97 minutes
Release Date: October 14, 2011
Director: Victor Salva

Sonny Blake (Rose McGowan, “Charmed”) is a psychiatrist with her own radio show. After her father dies by falling down the stairs to the basement, she puts his house on the market. Cut to a year later and she decides to move into the house since the housing market is so bad. The first day there, she meets the creepy paper boy Derek (Daniel Ross Owens). He offers her a cheap subscription and warns her that the offer is only good for one week.

Her next door neighbor Fred (Rance Howard) warns her to stay away from the paper boy. He also mentions that her father never said he had a daughter. Sonny admits that they didn’t get along and she even wrote a book about growing up there with her alcoholic father. Not long after, she hears a noise in the basement and finds the paper boy down there. He reminds her about the offer, laughs at her, and runs out her front door. Sonny finds herself trapped in a weird world where the paper boy can do things he shouldn’t, constantly taunts her with nursery rhymes, and seemingly can get into her home no matter what she does. Even Detective Briggs (Ray Wise, “Reaper,” “Twin Peaks”) and her ex-boyfriend/current lover Barrett (Sonny Marinelli) can’t help her.

I actually stumbled upon “Rosewood Lane” accidentally while browsing through Netflix. I love Ray Wise, and I like Rose McGowan, though I liked her a lot better before she started going crazy with the plastic surgery. This movie is actually pretty good and a lot better than some of the recent movies I watched online.

McGowan is completely unbelievable as a counselor though. She works on the radio, but she’s constantly running around in heels and skirts. My boyfriend even made a comment at one point that there’s no way she could run several blocks in over the knee boots. Wise is far more believable as the detective who thinks everything is in her mind.

“Rosewood Lane” actually had a few nice little scares. One scene that sticks out in my mind has McGowan in the basement of her house. As a car passes in front of the house, the headlights illuminate the background, showing the paper boy standing behind her. Even though I knew it was coming, it still made me jump a little.

This isn’t a fantastic movie, but it actually is pretty good. I know a lot of people have a problem with Salvo as a director given his past history, but the man can sure do a lot with a horror film. If you haven’t yet seen it or you keep putting it off, give it a try.