House
(2008/Lionsgate DVD)
Picture:
C Sound: C+ Extras: D Feature: D
There is
nothing more annoying then a bait-and-switch release, especially when it is as
sneaky as Robby Henson’s House
(2008), another bad would-be haunted house flick with no point. However, the real boring surprise is that
co-writers Frank Peretti and Ted Dekker have written a Horror tale that is more
about getting people to read a Christian Bible than even being a genre
work. That is condescending, ignorant
and shows a real lack of pride on just about all involved.
Michael
Madsen even shows up, but it is the equivalent of having Madsen show up on The 700 Club or something as equally
dogmatic and obnoxious. Running 88
minutes, it seems much longer and is a truly embarrassing exercise that starts
flat and just gets worse and worse.
Avoid at all costs, especially when it feels like a new
version/variation of Torture Porn.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 digital High Definition image is very soft,
weak, badly shot and has all kinds of detail and color issues throughout. The phony video look is very difficult and
trying to view. The Dolby Digital 5.1
and 2.0 Stereo mixes are also flat and not very imaginative, with some audio
sounding like bad location recording. There
are no extras, though they offer a downloadable discussion guide, beware of
spyware!
- Nicholas Sheffo
