ONE OF THE CHALLENGES I FACED when dating was figuring out the person’s sense of humor. I found it difficult to do on a blind date or on a first date. My humor leans toward the sarcastic, so I felt I had a little leeway, especially because I would quickly chuckle after my comment to let the person know I was kidding. Still, I kept things low key, only testing the water. However, I have been on dates when the person would make comments that I was not sure if they were funny or serious. My motto has been if you must explain the joke then it is not a joke. I was on one date where we were sitting in a coffee shop and the person from the start was cracking jokes and kept it up through most of the conversation. It was so annoying and not very funny. You see, when I am on a first date, I want to learn things about the person, their history, their likes and dislikes, their past relationships; it is information that I feel helps me decide if there is to be a second date. I enjoy making people laugh, but I must get to know the person to see what types of jokes are appropriate. What one person finds funny may not be funny to someone else. The dates that excessively made jokes about everything usually did not get a second date with me.      GRATEFULLY, THE DATING YEARS ARE FAR behind me, but I still must work at “reading” a person. In other words, believing or not believing what they are saying. The funny thing is I can do it when I am simply a bystander. A friend of mine was dating a man and after a couple of months felt comfortable enough to introduce him to her friends. We had gotten together for dinner and after hearing about him, I was finally able to listen and observe him live, in the flesh. During the conversations, I felt the guy was not being completely truthful. There were a couple of follow-up questions I asked about comments he made, and his answers did not match the knowledge I had on the subject. I also noticed he would break eye contact when he was giving false information on topics I knew. The following day after meeting my friend’s boyfriend, she called me and asked what I thought of him. I had to be honest and told her he was hiding something. She was curious plus valued my opinion since we knew each other for many years, so I told her what I thought of him. She took my information and stored it in her memory but continued dating this man until she caught him in a blatant lie. At least there was no drama during the breakup, unlike the poor family in this dramatic, psychological suspense thriller.      HAVING ACCEPTED THE INVITATION TO COME visit the country home of people they just met on vacation, the couple and their daughter soon realize something is off about their hosts. How could they tactfully back out? With James McAvoy (The Book of Clarence, Together) as Paddy, Mackenzie Davis (Tully, Terminator: Dark Fate) as Louise Dalton, Scoot McNairy (Nightbitch, A Complete Unknown) as Ben Dalton, Aisling Franciosi (The Nightingale, The Unforgivable) as Ciara, and Alix West Lefler (The King Tide, Riverdale-TV) as Agnes Dalton; this movie was the type of tense horror film I enjoy because it was more suspenseful than bloody gore. There were a few scenes with blood and violence, but I did not find it overwhelming. James was spectacular in this role and in some ways reminded me of Jack Nicholson in The Shining. I appreciated the outdoor scenes as the script kept pulling me into its grip before loosening up, only to pull me in tighter next time. The whole cast was excellent, especially the children. Now, there were a few scenes that rang false to me, but overall, I appreciated the way the writers kept the viewers engaged with the story. Plus, there was a certain amount of “creep factor” that kept me on the edge of my seat. 

3 ¼ stars