With M Night Shyamalan seemingly on the ropes after his last couple of outings, the market is open for fresh blood in the psychological thriller niche.

However, Joseph Ruben, who may not exactly be a new kid on the block after Sleeping With The Enemy and The Good Son, shows he's up for a shout.

Here his claim is bolstered with a convincing performance by Julianne Moore as Telly Paretta, a mum convinced the memory of her dead nine-year-old son is being erased.

The youngster, who died in an air crash, disappears off happy family photos, a video of him playing suddenly goes blank and even his father denies he ever existed.

Moore's shrink Dr Munce (Sinise) explains that she's a classic sufferer of para amnesia - inventing a son thanks to the trauma of a stillbirth.

She thinks she's going doolally until she meets Ash Correll (West), the father of one of the other victims, whose memory of his dead daughter is suddenly jolted.

What with the remake of The Manchurian Candidate, brainwashing seems to be the flavour of the month... but this is an altogether subtler affair.

Ruben expertly builds up the atmosphere of paranoia and distrust and you think you're settling back to watch a routine conspiracy thriller when the rug's pulled from under you.

There's holes in the plot you could drive a truck through but a willing suspension of disbelief will be rewarded with a taut, disturbing tale of the supernatural.

Wisely, Ruben doesn't seek to spell things out in three-storey neon letters, leaving the audience with an unknowing dread of what they might be witnessing.

OK, so in the cold light of day it might sound a bit daft... but after you've watched it you certainly won't forget to check behind the doors when you go to bed.

Tim Evans