Seeing is believing as taut thriller’s sly plot unravels

This intriguing thriller follows paranormal investigators as they debunk fraudulent mediums, mind readers and ghost hunters through the appliance of rigorous science.

It promises far more than it delivers, turning a narrative screw for the opening 45 minutes that teasingly hints at invisible, dark forces at work in a bustling metropolis.

Savvy audiences who enthusiastically devoured The Sixth Sense and its supernatural kin will enjoy piecing together the puzzle, searching for clues in nervous glances and ominous silences between the characters.

Once the elaborate and impressively grand design is revealed, incredulity supplants fascination, culminating in an underwhelming big reveal that plays on our perceptions.

Dr Margaret Matheson (Weaver) has devoted her life to probing paranormal phenomena and exposing the trickery behind supposedly wondrous occurrences.

Flanked by assistant Tom Buckley (Murphy), she travels the world, discovering the truth behind a haunted house and exposing a spirit guide called Palladino (Sbaraglia) as a charlatan.

Out of the blue, the investigator’s great adversary – blind psychic Simon Silver (De Niro) – comes out of retirement for a lucrative theatre tour with his agent Monica Handsen (Richardson).

Tom’s insatiable curiosity creates friction with Margaret and the closer he strays towards Silver, the more powerful the blind psychic becomes, putting the paranormal investigators on a collision course with disaster.

Tension of the first half dissipates as Cortes engineers his earth-shattering finale, replete with flashbacks to earlier scenes that slyly foretold of the destruction to come.