– (1991) – A geek is coaxed into entering a haunted house attraction that contains an escaped killer. The concept holds promise, but the execution has no idea whether it wants to provide thrills or comedy, and ends up featuring neither. Taking place on Halloween helps, but nothing that occurs holds any weight.
Category Archives: Haunted House
Amityville: No Escape
– (2016) – A small group of friends film themselves as they talk about fear near an infamous haunted house. Doesn’t seem to know what it wants to do, as it’s never clear why the characters search for a house they never enter (until the lame finale). One half is a POV confessional of an irritating actress, the other half is a blatant Blair Witch ripoff. Both try patience.
Amityville Exorcism
The Amityville Terror
Amityville: Vanishing Point
– (2016) – A girl goes missing from a boarding house in Amityville. The plot is nearly impossible to discern since every line of dialog is an exercise in how not to speak, and is often spoken alongside music of equal volume. This is clearly the work of someone with a camcorder, five dollars, and friends who are willing to ruin their low-level acting careers in one fell swoop. Ugly, erratic, and irritating.
Amityville Death House
– (2015) – A group of friends stop at a house in Amityville, NY that has ties to Salem, MA. A pathetic attempt to cash in on notorious New York murders when it’s perfectly clear this is not a New York production. The characters, and everything they do and have happen to them, are useless, bland, and pedestrian.
The Barn
High Spirits
– (1988) – Castle inhabitants plan to falsely haunt their domain until discovering the place is actually haunted. A sloppily told and noisily concocted story of many characters (most of whom are never fleshed out) dealing with love on earthly and unearthly planes. The atmosphere is strong, but despite many attempts at zany comedy few laughs are had.
Blair Witch
– (2016) – Four friends and two tagalongs enter haunted woods in search of a girl who went missing over a decade before. Has a rough beginning that merely duplicates the original’s set-up, and the characters are hardly profound, but once the horror kicks in the tension never lets up. A relentless display of suspense, unpleasant atmosphere, and effective shocks.