As a stand alone fantasy film for children, I'd give this one a 6. (Although I don't think I'd recommend it for children under 4th grade or so -- there were some quite frightening parts).

I thought Christopher Eccelson did a good job as the Rider. The elements of good and evil were pretty well marked out to see. The action, if anything, went too fast. Will zipped from sign to sign without anyone really explaining to him why he was "The Seeker". The editing may have been too choppy. The Old Ones themselves weren't explained very well, which left me a bit confused. They show the dogs growling at Will and the television going fuzzy, but don't explain why.

Even with the confusion and choppy editing, I think for kids who have never read the books, it could be a fun movie to see -- and possibly lead them into the books.

THAT SAID.....

I am a huge fan of the books and am personally disappointed in how much has been changed. I felt that Walden had a wonderful opportunity with this film to bring the richness of Cooper's books to life -- but all the timeless qualities of her book are gone in this very dated piece. The magic of the loving Stanton family, the small English village life, Arthurian Legend, and Celtic lore have been lost and in their place is a shopping mall a missing twin and a possessed brother. What happened to Herne the Hunter? The Old Ways? Huntercombe Way? The Farm? The Lady? The Walker? All in all I guess the best that can be said it that it could have been worse!!