Dark House (2014/aka Haunted/Cinedigm Blu-ray)

Picture: B Sound: B Extras: C- Film: C

Directed by Victor Salva (Jeepers Creepers) comes Dark House (2014), a supernatural horror film starring Luke Kleinank (Saw). The story focuses around Nick Di Santo (who is tormented by his ability to touch someone and see exactly how they will die.

On his birthday, Nick visits his condemned Mother (Golden Globe Nominee Lesley-Anne Down) in a mental institution who tells him that his long lost Father is not only alive but could know the origin of his otherworldly gift.

When Nick gets into a boring screaming match with his mother, he touches her and sees the grisly way she dies (burning alive), and low and behold it becomes a reality. In her will, Nick discovers that his Mom left him an abandoned house that triggers a dark memory. He has seen this house his whole life in dreams and drawings but until now he never knew it existed. Remind you of the motif of Freddy Krueger's house in A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors?

From here, the film shifts gears when Nick and his group of pals (including his pregnant girlfriend Eve) decide to take a road trip in an attempt to find his Father and check out his new creepy inherited house. The film attempts at humor with a bunch of run of the mill character archetypes and actors that fail to impress. It mimics the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre setup yet regains steam with the introduction of a dark figure (Tobin Bell) who has a group of unusual hooded soldiers that chase our heroes throughout the woods. The concept of a dark ominous character combating five to ten creepy soldiers with pix axes in the woods is an interesting concept. However, the costumes look like they are purchased at a Halloween Store and not gritty and dark enough to be convincing.

Stunning realizations strike Nick throughout the final act as his friends get picked off one by one and his girlfriend Eve gives birth to a demon bringing hell on earth. While the premise sounds enticing and the film introduces some original moments, overall I feel it fails in achieving its goal of becoming a campy B-Movie by lack of effective humor and creative death scenes. I feel it could have benefited by a cult favorite actor (like a Kane Hodder or a Sid Haig) or maybe a more stylistic approach to its overall look and production design. It just doesn't quite hit the mark for this reviewer.

The Picture on this disc looks great however. The 2.35 X 1, 1080p digital high definition image brings out the crisp leaves in the woods and the skin tones on the characters. The DTS-HD 5.1 lossless sound mix benefits the musical score in the film, which at time is full of loud orchestral stingers that made me jump a few times in the film. The dialogue is loud and clear and above standard for a film in this budget range.

Extras lack on the disc with mere Behind the Scenes footage.

All in all, Dark House isn't the worst horror film I've seen but not engaging enough to be remembered far after its release date. It introduces some engaging ideas but fails with lackluster performances and a feeling of been there, done that.

- James Lockhart