THE CRESCENT (Directed by Seth A. Smith) **

A young mother goes with her adorable son to a remote place on a island in Nova Scotia. The mother is an  unusual painter; she loves her son, but takes her eyes off him far too much. and an artist with unusual techniques. One day a weird man approaches them on the beach and then ominous things inside the solitary house begin to happen. This is where the film becomes supernatural and frankly, a tad ludicrous. The father seems to have disappeared in a family boating accident, and at one time the mom seems to be drowning in the sea with her son. Her wavy-like patterns in her art engulf her as well. Ironically, the final scene brings the father and son together holding hands at a hospital. We only see the hands. Confusing, at times silly, it starts with uneventful boring reality, but it descends too slowly into a horror film; it meanders into plotless drive. It is an enigmatic metaphor on a  mother losing her baby if not herself. Nice photography and tension, but this is a film that does not know how to end. The boy stole the entire film. He is the son of the director. It was screened at TIFF.