When Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase was announced, I was extremely excited for the teen mystery series to get another chance at life after the 2007 attempt to start a new franchise was less than a box office and critical success. When I saw that literal It girl Sophia Lillis was taking on the lead role, I was even more convinced that this could be the beginning of something big. As time came and went and the theatrical release date was passed by without any sort promotional campaign, it became painfully evident that the movie was getting either shelved or dropped directly on VOD and DVD.
After the death of his wife, Carson Drew decides to leave Chicago behind and make a fresh start with his daughter in River Heights. But for 16-year-old Nancy Drew, life in a small town is mighty dull. She longs for excitement, adventure, and the chance to make a difference. Nancy gets that opportunity when she is asked to help solve the ghostly activity at the Twin Elms mansion. Can she help explain the creaking footsteps, exploding lightbulbs and the ominous creature? Is it the handiwork of high-school bully Derek Barnes? Or is it possible that the ghost of original owner Malcolm Colfax is back for revenge? Recruiting her best friends George and Bess, along with local “mean girl” Helen, Nancy is determined to solve the mystery!
After watching Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase, I now know why. From a production standpoint, the movie feels like it's maybe one level above that of something you'd see on Lifetime. The way the film is shot doesn't demand it be seen on the bigscreen. It seems like it would be more comfortable on Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, or... Lifetime? The Hallmark Channel would be ruled out because it's definitely too edgy for the targeted audience there.
For horror fans, Sophia Lillis's presence might be enough to grab people's attention and convince them to give the movie a chance. But aside from It: Chapter One, she's really not well-known to the general movie-going public. Lillis does balance charismatic and scrappy with other more dramatic emotions quite well. She just needs more time to lodge herself into the public's psyche. The only other actor even remotely recognizable to me is Linda Lavin, who I know from the 1970s and 1980s show Alice. Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase NEEDED another bigger name to help push it to a broader audience and possibly into theaters.
Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase has its share of pacing problems as well. I can't completely put my finger on anything in particular, but the movie just didn't have a natural flow. May be it was the editing or possibly the arrangement of the different scenes?
The special effects and CGI for Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase were what you would expect from a lower-budget or straight-to-DVD release. They weren't painfully distracting or anything, but were definitely not on the level of your Star Wars or even mid-level theatrical release. They look like something you'd see on... Lifetime or Cartoon Network.
Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase is rated PG for peril, suggestive material, thematic elements and language. The girls do say God and bejesus, which really isn't necessary and will offend religious viewers. The jerk football player also treats women very badly and even slaps one on the bottom. He also says inappropriate things to them, which justify the warnings of suggestive material and thematic elements.
The Blu-ray + DVD + Digital version of Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase contains a few extras that will thrill fans of the movie. Two featurettes take us behind the scenes - A Sleuth, a Girl, and An Inspiration and Pink Footprints: Touring Twin Elms. There's also a gag reel that will no doubt provide some laughs for viewers.
What we get with Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase is a fairly enjoyable 90-minute adventure which shows that girls can do anything they want and still have feelings. It might not be the grand homage to the classic mystery series it set out to be, but it still wears its heart on its sleeve. The blend of Mean Girls and The Haunted Mansion make for a comfortably scary good time with some moral messages to teach kids along the way. I could definitely see the series going on in low-budget installments targeted for straight home entertainment release every year or so.
