If the horror genre has achieved anything it's publicised the fact that estate agents are shifty no matter which country they're from.

From America (Amityville) to Japan (Dark Water) they're happy to overlook the unspeakable acts that unfolded within the four walls in order to make a quick sale.

Spanish realtors are no different when they palm off an isolated pile to an American family without mentioning that it was the scene of a satanic ritual where six young boys died.

Mum Lena Olin and dad Iain Glenn have only just moved in with their two kids - Regina (Paquin) and son Paul - when strange things begin to happen.

The lights always fail at dusk; Paul's pencils have a habit of rolling into the shadows under the bed and dark figures flit - Sixth Sense-style - down corridors.

Then dad starts suffering a paranoid mental condition that has plagued him in the past - apparently larvae hidden in the wooden walls are talking about him.

As if garrulous insect grubs aren't enough to contend with, it turns out the house was designed by shady types intent on unleashing evil through human sacrifice.

Forty years ago a bloodletting session terminating seven young boys went wrong... but this time the unseen diabolists are determined to get it right.

Spanish director Jaume Balaguero - who also co-wrote the script - has fashioned a promising shocker and knows how to pace events to produce the maximum chill.

There's a trio of terrifying Spanish widows who we first meet in a sepia toned picture but are later acquainted with as ethereal wall-crawlers and dealers in death.

The house itself - all dark woods and fathomless galleries - is the perfect setting for a bit of spookery even if the American family appear to have just met.

The big disappointment is that a nifty psychological-come-supernatural thriller is obviously struggling to emerge from a harshly edited finished product.

No back-story is offered regarding the devil-worshippers so, if you're happy to gloss over the glaring narrative inconsistencies - you may find enough to chill the spine.

Perhaps this darkness could have benefited from more light being cast on the subject.

Tim Evans