Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘The Disappointments Room’

Written by Scott Edwards

​Not being able to face what you have done in the past is something that many people cannot get over. Trying to relocate to move on with their lives may seem like the best idea, but unless you are able to forget completely, it will never truly help. Needing to be able to live with your mistakes is just a part of life, and there is no shame in needing help to do so. As we are all playing the same game, you have friends that are willing to help you to the next level and beyond. Don’t shy away from them in your time of need, ask and you shall receive as someone once said, and it is good to know that it can still happen.
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The Barrow family is moving away from the city to make up a new life for themselves in the country. With a massive fixer upper house, architect Dana will have her hands full and that is exactly what she needs to keep her mind off of things. With the support of her husband David and son Lucas, the three have each other to keep the demons at bay. But hopefully that will be enough for Dana who is having a hard time adjusting to her new surroundings. 

As the family is getting settled, they head into town to do a little shopping and find that the townsfolk are happy that they have moved into the old Blacker house. As it has been sitting vacant for so many years, having someone living there just feels right. Even though most everyone is surprised that Dana is the architect in the family rather than David, the couple believes that this might be the right move for them. As all old houses have their own set of problems, the Barrows have no idea what really happened inside the walls of their new home many years ago but will soon come face to face with something that was never explained to them.

Waking up in the middle of the night, Dana takes a stroll outside to get some fresh air, but when looking back at the house, she sees a light on in the attic. Heading up to investigate it, she discovers a locked door that is leading to somewhere that she has never seen before. Finding a key to the door in the morning, Dana is able to open it and step inside. Hearing the door locking behind her, Dana is trapped inside the room for hours on end and is not able to get anyone to help her. When her time is up and the visions leave her mind, Dana lays into her family for not helping her, but they had no idea that she was in any sort of trouble, much less did not hear her screams for help. Knowing that there is something strange about the room, Dana finds out it was called a Disappointments Room, where parents hid their children away from the world when they had issues. As most of the rooms were only used for a short time, they might house nasty memories as most of these children never had the chance to grow old.

This movie is an extremely slow mover, which is a shame because it had so much potential to be so much more. You can tell that the story was altered more than once to get to the final payoff of what is really happening in the house, which leaves me wanting to see what was originally slated to happen. You can tell that Dana has a ton of demons that she is trying to fight off in her mind, but when she starts looking for comfort outside of her family, she really lost me. That being said, the performance was excellent, especially when she loses her mind at dinner with some old friends. You really have to feel for her, but as she explains, it was her own doing, and she does not want to live with it. I am still unsure if there were ghosts in the house, because it did seem extremely creepy when the mirrors came down exposing the portraits of the former homeowners. With creepy flashes, a hammer, a vicious dog, memory lapses and a possible haunted house, you will be left wondering what really set off Dana to fight with herself, along with her family.  

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