Debuting director Agnieszka Wojtowicz-Vosloo keeps everyone guessing in this metaphysical mystery, as it's never entirely certain whether mortician Liam Neeson actually can communicate with the cadavers on his slab, and whether teacher Christina Ricci perished in a car crash or has been abducted against her will and injected with a muscle-relaxing drug. A teasing phone call to boyfriend Justin Long and student Chandler Canterbury's growing conviction that he can see dead people add to the suspense. But, ultimately, the calculated vagueness, convoluted plot and creaky dialogue begin to frustrate as much as Wojtowicz-Vosloo's insistence on trying to find coy new angles from which to shoot Ricci's often naked body. Nevertheless, Neeson and Ricci achieve a quirky chemistry, while the climax is also quietly effective.

When George and her colleagues get a new boss whose focus is on moving souls quickly and enjoying life without consequences, the team begins to break the strict reaper rules. While her friends fall victim to their desires for money, success, and fame, George breaks another rule by revealing her true identity to her living family.