Better when it's not trying to scare you. TWITTER 4/30/2021 Rupert Friend, Brian Cox, Madeline Brewer and Mamie Gummer star in William Brent Bell's horror film about a little girl whose demonic puppets seem to come to life. A muddled execution undercuts laudable ambitions in the latest effort from director William Brent Bell, who previously demonstrated his talent for turning low-budget horror films into major commercial hits with such movies as The Devil Inside and Separation, which attempts to inject scares into a Kramer vs. Kramer-inspired scenario. But the film squanders its intriguing setup and terrific performances by devolving into familiar genre tropes. Not that it will prevent horror-starved audiences from flocking to see it on the big screen thanks to the further lifting of pandemic restrictions.