Fourteen years ago (even though some of the cars were from the mid-2000s), Claire (Meghan Ory) was horrifically traumatized in the "Darrode House," the site of a brutal massacre that left seven children dead by the hand of their evil foster mother Miss Darrode. In present day, Claire is plagued with night terrors, panic attacks, and other psychological ailments rooted deep in her suppressed memories of that terrible day. To fight these fears, her psychiatrist tells her that she must return to the scene of the event and face what happened there so many years ago. She gets her chance when her acting troupe, which is composed of a jock, a black guy, a goth, a slutty blonde, etc. (seriously), decides to join a high-tech haunted house for Halloween. But, uh oh! The creator of the haunted house, entrepreneur Walston (played by horror icon Jeffrey Combs), has chosen none other than the Darrode House itself in which to stage the house of terrors! As expected, Miss Darrode and her house are not happy with their unwelcome visitors. . .
As many horror fans will tell, it is very difficult to make a great "haunted house" movie. Even those who believe in the paranormal often do not fall for many of the tricks & scares that are frequent in ghost-themed horror films. Other than 'Paranormal Activity,' it has been several years since the U.S. has had an overly successful (critically and/or financially) haunted house film, instead having mediocre pictures like 'An American Haunting' or 'The Haunting in Connecticut.' One of the major failures of the subgenre comes from the lack of subtlety that ends up ruining any chance at real terror. That being said, it seems that 'Dark House' was never made to be 'the next great haunted house film.' It was aware of its limitations and, instead of true fear, it went for the next best things in horror: fun & blood. And, while a darker 'Dark House' may have been a welcome idea, this way worked well enough for a fun evening.
On the technical side of the film, there isn't a lot to complain about. Unfortunately, there isn't too much to be praised either. The cast had its flaws, especially when they took their roles as the haunted house characters. Making this worse was the ridiculous dialogue written for them, turning what would just be laughable stereotypes into something much, much more annoying and frustrating. Luckily, Jeffrey Combs, as he so often does in films like this, acts as saviour. It would be difficult to write a character for Combs that would be anything close to annoying, and that's why viewers will be grateful to have this slightly creepy, often funny madman in the film. Looking past the dialogue, the writing isn't too awful. The story progression and overall plot was fairly trite, but it was delivered in such a way that made it entertaining enough to look past its general lack of originality. As for the element of this film that seemed to matter most, the special effects were quite wavering in their quality. The "hologram" effects & transitions were actually done fairly well, but the quality quickly degraded anytime the holograms interacted/attacked the humans. Given the budget, however, the FX weren't really a disappointment.
Overall, this is not going to be a film that will go down in the annals of horror history as great or memorable cinema. However, viewers looking for an entertaining evening with a few jump scares and some gore will find enjoyment in 'Dark House.'
Final Verdict: 6/10.
-AP3-
As many horror fans will tell, it is very difficult to make a great "haunted house" movie. Even those who believe in the paranormal often do not fall for many of the tricks & scares that are frequent in ghost-themed horror films. Other than 'Paranormal Activity,' it has been several years since the U.S. has had an overly successful (critically and/or financially) haunted house film, instead having mediocre pictures like 'An American Haunting' or 'The Haunting in Connecticut.' One of the major failures of the subgenre comes from the lack of subtlety that ends up ruining any chance at real terror. That being said, it seems that 'Dark House' was never made to be 'the next great haunted house film.' It was aware of its limitations and, instead of true fear, it went for the next best things in horror: fun & blood. And, while a darker 'Dark House' may have been a welcome idea, this way worked well enough for a fun evening.
On the technical side of the film, there isn't a lot to complain about. Unfortunately, there isn't too much to be praised either. The cast had its flaws, especially when they took their roles as the haunted house characters. Making this worse was the ridiculous dialogue written for them, turning what would just be laughable stereotypes into something much, much more annoying and frustrating. Luckily, Jeffrey Combs, as he so often does in films like this, acts as saviour. It would be difficult to write a character for Combs that would be anything close to annoying, and that's why viewers will be grateful to have this slightly creepy, often funny madman in the film. Looking past the dialogue, the writing isn't too awful. The story progression and overall plot was fairly trite, but it was delivered in such a way that made it entertaining enough to look past its general lack of originality. As for the element of this film that seemed to matter most, the special effects were quite wavering in their quality. The "hologram" effects & transitions were actually done fairly well, but the quality quickly degraded anytime the holograms interacted/attacked the humans. Given the budget, however, the FX weren't really a disappointment.
Overall, this is not going to be a film that will go down in the annals of horror history as great or memorable cinema. However, viewers looking for an entertaining evening with a few jump scares and some gore will find enjoyment in 'Dark House.'
Final Verdict: 6/10.
-AP3-