Grade: C-

Verdict: Not entirely forgettable, thanks to a super-human effort by Julianne Moore.

By ELEANOR RINGEL GILLESPIE
Cox News Service

Telly Paretta (Julianne Moore) has been told she has a "death grip" on the past. She can't let go of her memories of her 9-year-old son, Sam, who died in a plane crash 14 months and six days ago (just ask her).

A death grip on memory is one of the themes of "The Forgotten," a semi-good thriller that initially recalls M. Night Shyamalan's best movie, "The Sixth Sense," but devolves to the level of one of his middling movies, "Signs."

Within the first 15 minutes we learn that Telly's exceptional grief masks something far more serious. According to her husband (Anthony Edwards) and her shrink (Gary Sinese), she never had a son.

Is she delusional? Considering "The Forgotten" is an expensive-looking Hollywood movie with a big-star leading lady, she better be. Besides, former hockey star Ash Correll (Dominic West from HBO's "The Wire") may have lost a daughter in the same crash. Or else he's having a National Enquirer Moment.

"The Forgotten" has its share of National Enquirer Moments, some of which are effective, some less so. The film is much stronger in its first third, when the mystery of the missing Sam is more a matter of irrational obsession (maybe). But the more spelled-out the puzzle becomes, the less convincing it is.

Director Joseph Ruben made one of the best thrillers of the 1980s, "The Stepfather." And at times, "The Forgotten" recalls that movie's sleek scares. However, the script goes off in a different direction, ultimately suggesting a good "Twilight Zone" episode from the '50s. Which, perhaps, it should've been. Confined to a half hour television show, the narrative would probably come off punchier and the hokey parts would be over with more quickly.