The Dead Room (2015) User Reviews

Dare to enter?...

[paul_haakonsen · 6/10 · 9 June 2017]

I knew nothing about "The Dead Room" prior to finding it. And when I came across it, I was instantly intrigued by the movie cover. So after having read the synopsis, I did indeed decide that this was a movie that I had to watch, especially with my love for the horror genre.

And now with the movie finished and watched, I must admit that "The Dead Room" turned out to be a really nice surprise of a movie. I hadn't really expected much of anything, so I was more than pleasantly surprised with the outcome of director Jason Stutter's movie.

There was a really good atmosphere to be found in the movie, and that atmosphere was really permeating throughout the entire movie, adding a solid foundation for the story to grow on. And it was also especially nice to have the movie start out instantly and throwing the audience into the action from the very beginning. "The Dead Room" is not the type of movie that uses an hour or so to establish the mood and with very little happening in that time. No, "The Dead Room" kicks off in a high gear from the very start and you have no doubt about what is going on.

The effects, while sparse, were actually serving the movie quite well. Again, lots of great use of the atmospheric influences, such as footsteps, banging, opening and closing doors, and the like. Everything a ghost movie needs, you will find it here.

"The Dead Room" has a very little ensemble of performing actors and actresses, so there was a bit more pressure on the performances of these few people. But fear not, Jed Brophy (playing Liam), Jeffrey Thomas (playing Scott) and Laura Petersen (playing Holly) really performed quite well, and they were very committed to their roles. These were, for me at least, three entirely new faces, so it was nice to see someone new for a change.

This is definitely a horror movie that you should take the time to sit down and watch, because it is a surprisingly good movie. And it is rare to find a horror movie that starts out as intense and fast paced as this one did.

There is a few twists and turns to the story along the way, but the major plot twist was actually quite nice, and it sat very well to my liking, and it was a great reveal once it was out in the open. I will not give anything away here, of course, because I believe that a movie should be enjoyed and experienced on your own accord.

I read that some people didn't like the ending to the movie in other reviews. I, however, found it to be an adequate ending. It was generic and predictable, for sure, it it served the movie and the story well enough.

It was entertaining, but not anything different

[desiree-tehiko92 · 6/10 · 7 November 2015]

I heard a lot about this movie, so was pretty excited to see it, plus the fact that it was filmed in NZ and I'm a New Zealander was an even bigger incentive to see it. I also saw that it was filmed using the new Rumble technology which seemed really cool, I wonder if it was the cinema I was in....cause i don't believe it worked, a shame really, but onward.

Dead room is based on an urban legend of a small farmhouse in Otago, New Zealand, where two science teachers in the 1970s visit the rural farmhouse to debunk claims the house is haunted. They reportedly flee because of some terrifying and unexplained events.

This movie was somewhat generic, not scary, I believe, nor was it suspenseful, I pretty much saw what was coming and what was going to happen. I suppose you could look at it like "good job New Zealand, little pat on the back there for you". Otherwise the acting was okay, not too bad, it was a bit touch and go in some parts, like when she falls on the floor and becomes possessed, you'll get what I mean if you see it, and some of the girls moments could have been like she was genuinely a lot more scared...considering she had the distinct advantage of actually seeing the spirit. The storyline was decent though and seemed genuinely thought out, and the use of technology was smart and the set was scary, so that was a good touch.

This movie was good in the fact that it built up to events, it let us feel for the characters, feel safe with them, and then feel fear with them at the same time. But its the ending that can't make me justify an amazing rating. To me, the ending fell a bit flat, everything happened so fast, the last ten minutes everything just went really bad and everyone started disappearing and then it just ended with a final scene of the evil spirit, I believe it would have been better if it was left to our imagination like in Blair Witch Project...but that's just my opinion.

Overall it was alright, it would be worth a watch if you want to see New Zealand's take on horror, and to see something that has a somewhat decent twist at the end, where the original bad guy is not as bad as he seems.

Good movie

[luvjellyboo · 5/10 · 18 August 2017]

Enjoyed the movie very much, a little slow to start but a good build up. The acting was sometimes stiff, but the effects were good. I was disappointed how quickly it ended though, far too abrupt. I felt more time should have been spent on the finale. Also couldn't help but wonder how the parakeets could possibly be alive after all that time?!! Something i feel the producers, director or cast should have questioned. All in all, a pretty decent little movie.

A decent film except for the ending

[mjsreg · 5/10 · 9 November 2016]

Just about everything about this film is good. Good acting, camera- work, lighting, and so on.

The only thing that let it down as far as I am concerned is the ending.

Having built up the story (which was well written and well acted) and drawn the viewer into the events I was expecting more of an explanation through the final sequences of why they had happened.

The ending felt rushed and perhaps edited a bit too much to keep the film within time.

But apart from that, the film was enjoyable and certainly as good as similar films in the horror genre.

Painful to watch as it died

[elizrug · 2/10 · 19 April 2016]

This movie started out OK. It seemed like it had promise that way it didn't really explain what was going on, but through actions and dialogue it gave the viewers the background story.

The three characters have no chemistry and they act stiff around one another. The character of the psychic, Holly, played by Laura Peterson, is clichè: dark, moody, etc.

Jed Brophy's character doesn't say much. Jeffery Thomas was pretty good, but, again, there was the problem of the interaction between the only three actors in the film. It was stilted and boring.

Back to Laura Peterson: the girl cannot act. In a role where terror and anxiety is necessary, she misses the mark completely. I've seen 5 year olds pull off terror better than her.

My family and I stopped watching the movie 3/4 of the way in because of a malfunction. We weren't upset. I noticed my 14 year old horror fanatic was fast asleep.

The scare factor was null, the suspense was just long waits while characters walk down the hall.

Good idea for a film, started with a promise, died a slow, boring death.

Worst movie ever.

[cherokeejones-88033 · 1/10 · 18 September 2016]

The buildup was slow, the scary parts were not scary, and the only ones who were relatively okay at acting were the two men. The female was annoying and when she would 'feel the presence' her acting was just terrible. I couldn't take any of it seriously like I would when watching a better horror film. She made me want to punch her in the face. Maybe next time they should find someone who seems like they actually went through acting school.

The ending was trash. Really? Pulled her by a chain? Stupid. The whole film was a mess and not even worth it.

DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME. There are plenty of other films you could be watching that are better than this one.

If you like it, to each their own. I wouldn't ever recommend it or give it any more of my time ever again.

Hope you like to be disappointed.

not perfect but very good

[davish_wulf-1 · 7/10 · 7 November 2016]

People here forget to imagine what would be like being in a supposedly haunted house. There are no zombies or ghosts jumping after 5 minutes of the movie, or CGI everywhere.. and I'm glad. Slow pacing, brilliant light & shadow photography.

What can I say? It left me wanting more. Characters are uncomfortable near each other and so they should, since they don't know each other very well anyway.

The end could be extended and reworked a little better, but all in all, until the final ending, it is a thrilling experience from start to finish, one of the best suspense/horror spirit movies i saw this year.

Don't let the low grade keep you from watching it. If you like ghost movies, slow paced suspense with a somewhat real touch to happenings, this is a must.

It was ok

[andrewrye-06535 · 5/10 · 2 May 2020]

An interesting little movie really. The bad - The acting from some members was a bit stilted and there was no sense of history between them. We never got to know the backstory so I didn't really care for them. The reactions looked as if they were at times waiting for an offset director to give them the 'GO!' so the action can be added in later through CGI. The story line was a little too simple and the ending was a bit of a let down.

The good - loved that it was raw. Not overblown. I liked the slow build and that it felt subtle during the build-up. I liked it wasn't American, so no over the top teenagers screaming, no excessive CGI or ridiculous music. It was simple, so no 100 takes and angles, just straight shooting. As much as I complain about the actors in 'the bad' I enjoyed their presence (odd, I know).

It wasn't terrible, it wasn't great but I did think about it afterwards which is a bonus point. And, I'd watch it again.

So 5 for making me think.

Terribly underrated

[cjs6547 · 7/10 · 6 January 2017]

It's rare to come across a horror movie that takes itself and its characters seriously. More often than not, it seems horror producers take it for granted that the plot consists of illogical supernatural things happening and people dying in gory yet cinematic ways. To this end, very little is done to give the story or the characters any heart.

This movie does just that. It has an innocent story of three ghostbusters investigating a haunted house. The characters are, not only NOT obnoxious but downright likable. I could watch 90 minutes of this even if nothing spooky happened because they managed to keep my attention and were thoroughly well fleshed out.

It's not very scary, but it gives you the delicious little glee of watching one of those 'spooky phenomenon' movies. Won't make you jump, but will make you wiggle your toes in your snuggie.

The ending was kind of rushed. I would have liked to know more about the dead room and what transpired all those years ago to put the spooks in that situation.

Overall a very enjoyable watch.

From Boring to Unrewarding

[Glassgrl · 1/10 · 12 September 2016]

Every once in a while a movie is so lame that I feel compelled to warn others. This is one of those movies. I don't know if this review will actually have spoilers because there isn't much to spoil.

A group of paranormal investigators heads to a rundown farmhouse to investigate mysterious happenings that caused a family to flee. We never get any real backstory on what happened with this family, but it was scary enough that they left their pet birds unattended.

Absolutely nothing happens for the first 45 minutes. We stare at a hallway for most of it and occasionally the front door opens or something thumps. Cheap jolts are attempted by quick scene jumps to something unexpectedly loud but harmless like the generator starting up or supernaturally noisy wildlife outside. I'm not sure if the acting is terrible or there is just no good way to deliver the stilted dialogue provided. ("Did you open the front door?" (nervous look) "No. I didn't") The end result is the same. I spent a good deal of this time thinking that the house could be really cute if the Fixer Upper team got a chance to clean it up.

The last act resorts to your standard cables pulling people around the room and an evil entity that died in a morbid way that is never fully explained. We never even get the payoff of actually seeing the bad guy in his entirety, I am guessing for budget reasons.

I am a fan of this genre when it is done well, but this was very disappointing.

What's with all the freaking haters...?!

[ravenhair702 · 8/10 · 10 September 2016]

My wife showed me the trailer to this movie and I was SO freaking in! Being a fan of the show Ghost hunters helped. Two scientists and a young medium, who looked like a goth street walker, investigate a haunted farmhouse. The people who left pretty much everything behind...including their birds. BIG pet fan. Even if I was scared to death, I'd still grab my ankle biter dog on the way out! I read the reviews of other people who commented on the movie and I'm at a loss to understand their hate. I Loved this movie! Slow to start, but picks up nicely. Once things get going, I was glued to the screen. Really kept my attention and I'm not going to lie...the ending was not what I had imagined, but hey! It's a horror flick. These things don't often end well. Really ticked off my wife. I believe her exact words were..."That's it?! Come on!" I tried to reassure her that most horror films end this way, but it just wasn't enough for her. I liked it, and I hope whoever reads this will give it a shot. Much better than the last movie I commented on...Scream at the devil. UGH! My dog could film a better movie! Watch this movie! Peace!

Better than the negative reviews suggest.

[hrundivb_ · 7/10 · 10 September 2016]

I don't quite understand some of the low reviews for this film, except perhaps that some people only appreciate fast paced, gore infused, CGI blockbusters. I thoroughly enjoyed this film. While the premise is not unique, the acting was very good, the dialogue well scripted, and the setting was excellent. Shooting a movie with only three primary actors is difficult, this movie pulled it off. While suspense builds slowly, it works well. With the onset of supernatural occurrences, the characters, for the most part, react like real people.

The ending was unexpected, and from my perspective, added an interesting twist I did not see coming.

All in all, I was not disappointed by this New Zealand addition to the horror genre. I rarely am when it comes to international horror. If you like a simple 'haunted house visited by paranormal investigators' film, I recommend this one.

Really only need to watch the last 20 minutes.

[kimheniadis · 3/10 · 7 October 2016]

After I finished this one I started going over in my head what I was going to write about it. I wanted to just say, "Pretty boring. If you just watched the last 20 minutes or so of the film, that's all you would need."

Then I started thinking about it more, and I feel that I need to say more than that. It wasn't that the beginning was slow, and you did need it to build up the tension, but when I really thought about it, it was because of the actors. They almost seemed bored to be there, and there wasn't a lot of sharing who they were with each other, so I didn't really care about them.

There was also the fact that all three of them went to sleep at night. I don't watch the ghost busting shows on TV, but I would think at least one person would stay awake to monitor the equipment. It wasn't until a couple nights in that they set an alarm for 15 minutes before the activity would begin.

When you finally get to the last 20 minutes, lots of action takes place with furniture flying around the room, and the actors running around in terror. But even with this, it was just ho-hum. After they got to the meat of the movie, I was left with so many questions. Why was 3am the time everything happened. Why was the person doing what they did. And a couple of more, but I don't want to spoil anything if you decide to watch it.

So bad it's kind of good!

[noorutin · 4/10 · 16 October 2016]

This flick contains so much bad filmmaking that it's pretty hilarious, so overall not entirely unenjoyable!

It's a "ghost hunter" kind of thing complete with poor dialogue/acting (especially the female lead), hilariously fake sets toward the end, continuity errors, unmotivated lighting (you know, brightly lit faces in supposedly dark areas, nice constant overhead light underground, and what has to be the brightest moonlight I've EVER seen), way, way overdone color processing and fake vignette, and to top it off a nonsensical ending that brings zero closure to the whole farce.

We giggled and rolled our eyes throughout the film with my partner. I'm giving it a generous four stars, since it's the fun kind of bad, rather than annoying.

Prepare to wait a lot and you'll be staring at the screen in disbelief in the end.

[peterp-450-298716 · 1/10 · 25 May 2016]

"I would love to capture something conclusive.. To prove the existence of the paranormal. Yeah, well, just be careful what you wish for."

If it was the intention to show how boring the study of paranormal phenomena is, you can safely say that "The Dead room" is a successful film. You never watched a horror before? Well, this is the right movie to start with then. Nothing happens in it so to speak. And when something happens (exactly at 3 o'clock in the middle of the night) it certainly won't scare you to death. You could call it Horror for dummies. Ghosthunting isn't really a fascinating profession. You can compare it a bit with a birdwatcher. You're sitting on your strategic spot and wait until you can observe something. Waiting is the message. Waiting as in the waiting room of the doctor. Fortunately, the entity that runs amok in this New Zealand cottage, owns a well-functioning watch. So it makes an appearance punctually.

When a family pack their bags and leave because there are unexplained phenomena occurring in their home, three researchers arrive to sort it out in a scientific way on behalf of the insurance company. To be honest, I would be terrified if they would force me to live in this dilapidated hovel. The team of would-be Ghostbusters consists of Scott (Jeffrey Thomas), Liam (Jed Brophy) and Holly (Laura Petersen). Scott is a vexing cynic who wants to explain everything scientifically. When inexplicable facts happen, it's always the wind, according to him. A door opens and chandeliers sway back and forth ... probably a gap in the wall which causes a draft. The house shakes on its foundation ... probably a gust of wind. Furniture moving ... yep that damn wind again. Liam is the tech geek who ecstatically places his motion-detecting cameras and infrared sensors everywhere. However, he's the first one who wants to leave the place as soon as possible. And Corry is a psychic who feels the presence of supernatural abnormalities. It's also handy to have her around since she's a kind of living thermometer.

The horror "Paranormal Activity" was a huge success. You can hardly deny that. Personally, I didn't think it was that big of a deal and therefore I've avoided the successors (I'm not a big fan of commercial exploitation). The most annoying side effect are the countless imitations that make use of this success but lack substance. Most of them simply suck. The same applies to "The Dead Room". The first hour looks reasonable. Even though there's not much going on and you have to be patient and wait just like our three researchers. The only things you can witness in the beginning are the way they install themselves, how they go through room after room in search of ghosts and make small talk. The moment things start to happen, you'll be treated to the well-known phenomena such as moving furniture, slamming doors and swinging chandeliers. The use of such dull phenomena doesn't guarantee a successful paranormal horror however.

The denouement was substandard and downright ridiculous. The mood changed completely and this "Paranormal Activity" clone transformed into a third-rate horror. The denouement came so unexpectedly and took me completely by surprise. It felt as if they made it up at the last moment. All I could mumble was "Damn, that's it?". However, all praises for those three daredevils because although there were some life-threatening and quite frightening situations, they still went to bed hassle free and willingly. As if nothing was going on. Probably they've accepted that it really was the wind that caused it all. Honestly, reality shows shown on television are more frightening to me than this bland movie.

More reviews here : http://bit.ly/1KIdQMT

Not enough originality to make it above average.

[tiailds · 5/10 · 17 April 2016]

Horror from other countries is usually deals with something unexpected. This one was as well.

"Was it interesting?" I like the idea of little back story. Our characters are put in a situation and just go from there. The "science vs mysticism" was alright as well.

2 out of 3.

"Was it memorable?" The acting wasn't anything special. The special effects were adequate with exception of the green screen "outdoor" shot which were horrible. The twist at the end was slightly predictable but still good.

1.5 out of 3.

"Was it entertaining?" Not fighting ghosts while still fighting back was a bit annoying. The ghost hunters that don't seem to check their evidence consistently is always a bad part of supernatural horror. The character interactions were boring.

1 out of 3.

Starting with 1 (because "he" said so), 1 + 2 + 1.5 + 1 = 5.5 I'm going with 5. This movie tried to do things different, but not enough to make it above average.

Excellent, I Was Riveted!

[heratyplant · 7/10 · 17 April 2016]

I've never seen anything quite like this, I loved the atmosphere, slow pacing at the beginning (which usually turns me off) and the gradual build & twists to a frightening end. I can't understand in the slightest where the current headline review sees this as a run of the mill movie & he knew everything that was on the cards, psychic much??

Was it perfect, no, of course not, occasionally the performances where a little 'off' but it passed quickly. All in all I found it different, quite eerie & it held my attention from beginning to end. I would happily recommend this to all looking for a ghost story with an enigmatic twist & a couple of really ticked off spirits.

Beyond Boring

[darkdaxtervc · 1/10 · 8 May 2017]

The entire movie takes place in a painfully small set that is woefully bare and not scary in the least. Part of the "horror" is supposed to be how run-down this 5 room plus bath "farmhouse" that seems more like a large studio apartment actually is. More than anything this just annoys me. They leave the floors absolutely filthy so you can see the gusts of wind better, but all the characters go in and out of the house barefoot. There aren't any scary trinkets or macabre warnings to be seen either, just spoiled food, dirt, and leaves. None of the actors mesh well together. Laura Petersen is hot sure, but her acting is positively dreadful and her anti-science responses aren't exactly enlightened rebuttals. There's no spirited debate between her and the scientists. The younger scientist tries and fails, and while the older does well, he can't carry the whole movie himself.

Past this horrible setup you are given next to no information about anything. Not the characters themselves, not the house, not the former tenants, not the science... You get some insight into the ghost at the very end, but not nearly enough.

This movie is great for abnegation because it's​ nothing but long boring stretches of time. You will question every choice they make, and be left wondering about all the details.

Enjoyable by the numbers horror

[s3276169 · 7/10 · 5 September 2016]

The Dead Room is an enjoyable "by the numbers" horror from down under in New Zealand.

Its nice to see a horror film that's not from America.Indeed, this flick does have a slightly different feel to it. It employs a local cast with your typical "fush and chups" Kiwi accents. Its a refreshing change.

In terms of story line this is formulaic stuff. As some have pointed out too, the end is a bit contrived and predictable. I agree but this film still offers up some good scares, nonetheless.

Its well acted too, gaining pace and gradually building tension. The scares are well managed and there is a sense of cold, icy menace that infuses this film.

All in all, quite watchable. A seven out of ten from me.

A Special Kind of Horror Cringe

[Amira-Says · 1/10 · 15 September 2017]

I don't normally rate movies this low in general because I can usually find at least one positive thing about it. This one not so much. It just..well.. simply sucks. If you read the IMDb plot description of this movie it says, "When a terrified family flees a desolate southern New Zealand farmhouse, two cynical scientists and a young psychic are sent to investigate their claims of a haunting." I'm glad it says that because the movie kind of just starts as the team is at the house. Without having read the description, no one would have even had a clue that there was even a terrified family in the first place that fled. Much less that they had even sent a team to investigate. It just starts as them unloading the car at the place with not much of a reason about how they got there in the first place.

The first 45 minutes is just wasted time. Nothing really going on, nothing happening. It was very boring to even sit and pay attention to and I had to fight the urge to turn it off by playing solitaire. You would expect to at least like one character in hopes that they could at least have some good dialogue going on at the beginning, but the actors are so poor that they bring nothing to this horrid film. The girl is OK, but the men are so bad that it makes you cringe to hear them speak.

Another Gem from New Zealand! A Great Story and a Great Scare!

[brandon_veracka · 8/10 · 9 September 2016]

This is the third good film I've seen from New Zealand in the past year, and I was surprised to see it having such a low overall rating. "The Dead Room" is absolutely worth your time, and worthy of a much higher rating. Laura Petersen does some incredibly good acting in this film, and it's surprising she's never had bigger roles. The other two actors do a very good job as well. The straight-up suspense horror in "The Dead Room" is truly excellent. This is a truly great horror film; something even a horror great like Wes Craven would be proud of, even if it's not in his "roary-gory" style. It's not what you'd expect from the description either, and it's a wonderful film. It throws-out all of those dumb clichés from haunted house films and does something quite refreshing and original with the idea.

There are several things I love about this film. First, the use of characters & proper writing. In so many horror films, we get the displeasure of having to "get to know" the characters, and there's often a bit of sexual tension between one or more of them. In "The Dead Room" we are simply given three characters who are all quite different, but otherwise we know very little about them. They're investigating a haunted house as paid, professional ghost hunters, and that's all we know. The rest we gather about the characters is assumed from their actions.

Secondly I loved the cinematography. It is superb. You'd expect a lot of "found footage" type camera-work from a film about three ghost hunters, but you won't find any in "The Dead Room". The camera was used to great effect in this film, and the crew gets my full applause for that.

Another thing worth mentioning is the use of atmosphere over CGI, effects, or makeup. There are no special effects used in this film aside from some tasteful ones which are only used for creating some subtle visuals. The house is the main character of this story, and it's a wonderful actor. Instead of a "big" soundtrack with lots of suspenseful music, the sounds of this rickety old country home provide the audio, and it works to great effect.

Finally, on the subject of actors--or rather actresses--Laura Petersen is just awesome in this film. She hasn't had many other roles, but you'd never know that. Her acting here is just as excellent as some of the best girls of Hollywood. Lauren is a totally believable actress for her character, and the one the audience will sympathize with the most. I admit to being a bit biased in this respect; I just loved her character and think she's absolutely, positively beautiful! However in all honesty, I really do not feel my love for her beauty clouds my judgement of the quality of her acting. She is superb, period.

I watch a LOT of films. Horror is one of my favorite genres, but it's sadly dying at the hands of a great many bad producers, directors, actors, and so on. I'm so happy to say that "The Dead Room" is a true breath of fresh air. I haven't liked a newer horror movie this much since "The Babadook" (which was amazing). While "The Dead Zone" MAY not scare the pants off of you like "The Babadook" did with me, it's still 100% on-par with that level of great acting, direction, and cinematography. Lauren Petersen, as I've said, does an excellent job as our sort-of main character, and her character is an excellent centerpiece in this film.

If you want something scary to watch tonight, see "The Dead Room". You will not be disappointed with this one!

Promising film

[tonny-rea · 7/10 · 29 April 2016]

People ask too much and is too used to getting scared by the all mighty Hollywood monsters.

Here You will not see any of that, at least not as much as you would on a high budget movie. But I think that nonetheless, the movie did a good job a using the PSYCHOLOGICAL TERROR instead of using lame FX and lame ghosts figures. Plus it kept it a bit more real until it breaks reality.

It does start slow as some reviewers say but I recommend to hold your ground and keep watching it. I am very demanding when it comes to horror, terror,suspense and thrillers but you have to realize this is an independent film the production along with everything else is not made by an all time professional expert team yet, they manage to do a good job.

I like it and to my ranking is lacking 3 points because of the acting, yes I do agree there was not much chemistry between any of the actors, one was missing lines and the girl was missing strength. Not to forget when you finally get to see the actual creature in the basement in action, the costume could have been made more realistic, to my very personal liking. Other than that I really liked the film and i'll keep it to certainly watch it some other time. Yes, I did enjoyed it that much.

A great house and a big budget could make a great movie out of this one. Just saying.

And I have to say it, the first ghost appearance reminds me of The Juggernaut in the movie Thirteen ghosts. That's totally how I imagine it.

The horror with this film is wasting the 78 minutes to watch it.

[Horror_Flick_Fanatic · 1/10 · 23 January 2017]

I am dumbfounded at how awful this film is. No character development, no real story other than three ghostbusters that come to a cabin in some mountains we don't ever find out where to document the existences of paranormal behavior, but no explanation or leading story that gives us a hint as to what might have happened there. God awful acting performances. Special effects amount to old fashion flying furniture and door slamming. Investigative equipment that amounts to a hand-held infrared monitor and cheap wireless ethernet webcam on cheap tripods with audio sensors typical of what you find in home security systems from the 90s. What on earth were the producers thinking when they made this film?

You're kidding right?

[kotsotu · 2/10 · 5 May 2023]

These reviews are creepier than the movie. The main reason for many of these glowing 7+ reviews is specifically because this is a NZ film and not an American one? Really? If you told me all these people got paid to leave 7 star reviews that specifically mentioned "NZ".... I'd believe you.

It is not a 7 star movie. This is ridiculous and it's weirding me out by how many reviews are saying the exact same thing. Specifically mentioning NZ, the NZ scenery, NZ accents....what does that have to do with anything?

Anyway, here's a real review. The acting is fine. For people who care about character stereotypes, there really are none. The characters don't really stand out for any reason and they get along swimmingly. They might as well have no names. You get no backstory at all and they get right to the point.

People saying the characters are likeable and relatable are straight up lying. You never learn anything about them. They barely even talk. Like I said they might as well be nameless.

Nothing outstanding is happening. The ghost is moving things around a lot. It's not scary at all. There was one point I thought the old guy was gonna get impaled by a rake.

Nothing happens. Literally. Spooks and scares here and there and then at the end a ghost movie suddenly becomes a zombie movie. Hand sticking out of the dirt and all.

Ghosts are not what is meant to be feared in this movie. Unfortunately the actual scary thing is seen for half a second at the very end.

I think this is a movie for people who don't actually like movies or at least movies with a story. The movie is so empty and almost pointless.

They point around their machines, magnetic fields and a baby monitor, and the girl reads the air. They get objects thrown at them by a ghost that wants them to leave and then they get eaten by a semi invisible zombie at the end. That's the movie.

But at least the NZ scenery that's shown for 30 seconds in the beginning is beautiful. 🙄

Don't miss the last 15 minutes

[bettycjung · 23 June 2018]

6/20/18. It delivers decent scares for what looks like a cheap, low-budget movie. Three ghost-busters investigate a haunted house and two of them want to leave because of what they see going on, moving objects, slamming doors, etc. The last 15 minutes has a no-hold-bars scare-fest that makes it worthwhile you stayed around to the end.