Haunt
(2013/MPI/IFC Midnight DVD)
Picture
B Sound: B Extras: B Film: C-
Haunt
is a ghost story along the same lines as the Insidious
films but worse. While the concept of resurrecting ghosts and having
them attack an unsuspecting family sounds like a tired concept, this
film happens to partly pull it off... for the first half of the film.
Most of Haunt
takes place in darkness and relies on stylistic flashbacks speaking
of the ghostly origins of the Morello family and has some pretty good
production value and special effects. Some memorable moments of the
film center around the little girl that scratches out her family's
eyes in pictures and spends time alone talking to the Morello Ghost.
I was also happy to see a creepy shower scene as a sort of homage to
Psycho.
However, the film gradually falls apart over time, depending more on
the relationship with two badly acted characters and less time on
scary moments. The lack of blood and gore during some scenes also
hurt the overall film and takes away from the tension it is trying to
create.
Years
ago, Dr. Janet Morello (Academy Award nominee Jackie Weaver) saw her
entire family die in their house under tragic and gruesome
circumstances. Wanting a change of scenery, she sold her home to the
Asher family, including teenage son Evan - who is the only one
suspicious about his family's supposed new dream house. After
striking up a friendship with creepy next door neighbor Samantha, he
discovers a way to communicate with the ghosts of the slaughtered
Morello family. But soon, Evan and Samantha's morbid curiosity into
the supernatural turns dangerous as the spirits start to manifest
themselves in the physical world. Now, despite the warnings of Dr.
Morello, the teens are determined to discover the terrible secrets
that surround these ghastly apparitions and send them back to the
realm of the dead before it's too late!!!
Unfortunately,
there are more holes in this film than the Titanic. Simply put, the
film starts out strong. We got a creepy flashback sequence of the
dead Morello family and a first act that holds some promise. There's
an old school looking radio that can pick up transmissions from the
dead and makeup effects that aren't half bad. What the film lacks is
mostly found in its main characters. The acting is below average and
the scares are mostly dependent on loud noises or predictable
screaming or door slamming. We are never really told how the ghosts
died, what Evan's family does for a living or why they decided to
move to this house in the first place, or why in the first act they
don't seem to mind some randomly neighborhood girl shacking up with
their teenage son? Why is it that every time we get to hear the
ghosts through the radio there are pianos or violins screeching in
the background? This is better than Paranormal
Activity
but no Poltergeist
of
The
Conjuring.
The
final act is quickly cut and full of possession, baby torture, and
nailed down doors that shake and rattle open. The twist admittedly
isn't very shocking and is in many ways anti-climactic. The
possession sequences are a complete let down and make the new Evil
Dead (which
I was mixed on) look like The
Exorcist.
They safely stay in wide shots during the possession scenes and don't
push the jittered thrashing of the limbs to the limits enough to make
you clench, even cutting away at some points. By the end of the
film, you are left wanting more and can't help to think of what could
have been.
The
picture is a little above average for DVD and yet at times fails to
support the dark cinematography of the film. Many scenes take place
at night and in some scenes the image is so dark that it is almost
hard to make out as some scenes that little backlighting. I'm sure
the Blu-ray transfer probably improves upon this. Blues and yellows
dominate many of the dark scenes and adds to the overall cinematic
feel that puts this above your average independent horror films. The
shots are all nicely composed and the editing is pretty tight. Audio
on the disc is a lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 track that bounces around
your speakers and makes you jump during scary moments. The original
aspect ratio of the film is in 2.40:1. Subtitles on the disc are in
English SDH and Spanish.
Special
Features on the disc are Commentary
with Director Mac Carter, Cast/ Crew Interviews, Behind The Scenes,
Morello Case File Videos and Home Movies, Makeup Effects Behind The
Scenes,
and a
Trailer.
-
James Harland Lockhart V
www.vimeo.com/jamielockhart
