Capsule review of The Beacon: I enjoyed the heck out of it. With a great haunted house storyline and talented actors doing their talented acting thing -- along with a fabulously spooky setting used to good effect -- I can offer an enthusiastic recommendation for those seeking a good old fashioned scary movie (with a sexy bad girl twist).

Teri Polo and David Rees Snell play a troubled married couple named Bryn and Paul Shaw who move (they think) away from their troubles and into a restored downtown residential apartment building. Their neighbors include a nice young fellow named Will Tyler (Nick Sowell) and a not-so-nice fading TV star named Vanessa Shaw (Elaine Hendrix, vamping it). Their kindly building super, Mr. Butters, is played by local character actor Everett Sifuentes.

It soon develops that Bryn has emotional issues stemming from a recent family tragedy. Her ongoing troubles put a damper on her relationship with Paul, who finds himself being drawn into the clutches of his alluring (if somewhat snobbish) neighbor Vanessa. As it turns out, Vanessa has a secret life that is far closer to equal opportunity than snobbery ...

Michael Ironside turns in a great recurring cameo performance as a policeman whose beat includes the old Beacon Apartments. Kelli Dawn Hancock and Ken Howard play other policepeople called to the scene of reported shady goings-on, while Jonny Cruz lightens things up with his role as Simon Valencia, a credulous student of all things psychic who works at the college where Paul teaches. (Though maybe Simon's not so credulous, as things turn out.)

The creepy highlight of the movie occurs in an elevator shaft where Bryn confronts the ghostly child she's been encountering periodically since moving into the building. After this, things to go Hell in a handbasket for the residents of The Beacon -- which soon gains a new long-term resident.

For a first directing effort, Michael Stokes has a lot to be proud of. With high production values and a great cast, there's nothing amateurish about this movie. Here's hoping it garners a DVD distribution deal.