It had lots of atmosphere, but not a lot of oomph. The frightening imagery seemed a little too scattershot to be effective; we had creepy little girls, odd shadow-puppets, eerie wardrobes, a run-down rental house in the countryside, a mysteriously addicting drink, an ambiguous prayer to a self-consciously malevolent god-being, an enslaved/subservient wife who warns of impending doom, mystery meat that causes inexplicable bouts of nausea, a lecherous landlord, and, from what I gather, living trees that drink blood. Just a whole potpourri of "things that are unsettling." I felt like there were three or four different supernatural events going on rather than seeing them coalesce into one unified whole.
As far as the story structure, it may have been just distraction that made me miss it, but I was particularly bothered by the vagueness of their errand at the Standish's house. They were there to butter him up somehow about something, apparently to keep their house that they didn't much want in the first place? The whole situation felt a bit forced.
I felt indefinably creeped out while listening, but on review I don't see a coherent structure, and that makes me feel a little tricked and betrayed, like it was just the right sort of words to make things seem frightening without actually having something there to be frightened of. It's akin to the generically uplifting speeches you get from business leaders at meetings or coaches at pep rallies; you come out feeling all pumped up and inspired, but nothing meaningful was actually communicated.
I give it a "Meh plus." I didn't actively dislike it, but I probably wouldn't listen to it again if it came up on my iPod.
