This worries his wife, of course, who he suspects is having an affair with their close friend, Isaac (Danny Huston).

There's a mess of things wrong with this suspense thriller. Schumacher shoots as the story-within-a-story in a style that resembles an '80s music video, and his work shows the plight of a director at the low ebb of inventiveness and budget. The story is seriously drawn-out, but it never gets tense enough for a psychological thriller. Furthermore, Walter repeatedly re-discovering the presence of the number 23 gets excessively tiresome.

It's not Carrey cornball comedy, but all played straight, with an uncertain style, overexecuted camera work and an uneven, jumbled tone. The Number 23 is certainly hyperstylized, but if you're sucked into the theater because you're expecting Carrey's signature wackiness, you'll be sorely short-changed. - S.W.