The Houses October Built

-
The Houses October Built
Starring Brandy Schaefer, Zack Andrews, Bobby Roe, Mikey Roe
Directed by Bobby Roe

The Story:
Every October, thousands of haunted attractions open around the country.  For five thrill-seeking friends, they decide to document their adventures to different Halloween attractions in the hopes of finding the ultimate scare.  They of course get more than they bargained for.

The Synopsis:
Halloween is my second favorite holiday (behind Christmas - you know, gotta love the good and the bad), and I've always wanted to go to some haunted attractions, but never doing it because I realize that it's fake and that takes away from the fear aspect.  If I was younger, I might be scared, but I know I wouldn't be scared by them today.

That's what drew me to this film.  Not only did they feature several real attractions, but also mixed in real interviews with people who have heard real horror stories at real attractions, such as accidental deaths by the actors to hiring shady people to terrors behind-the-scenes.  The film would've been better if it was a straight-out documentary, instead of the now overdone found-footage film.

The five characters did well enough for the type of film.  None were really annoying, and they all seemed like normal people, which helped draw you into the film and really feel their plight.  The ending, as it seems with most of these types of films, is the worst.  This one leaves it completely open-ended, and not in the least bit frightening.  Surprisingly, the real frights happen in the middle of the film, when they come into contact with a truly creepy real-life Porcelain doll, and when a masked intruder videotapes them sleeping.  Scenes like that amped up my excitement for the stunning ending, but it was like popping a deflated balloon.  Highly dissatisfying.

The Summary:
With an interesting premise and a likeable cast, "The Houses October Built" could've been a great low-budget cult classic, but instead fell into the generic trappings of other found-footage horror films.

The Score: D+

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Major Theatrical Releases May 2019

-
Image
Major Theatrical Releases May 2019 After the hype that is "Avengers: Endgame," May offers a massive collection of differing types of movies, enough to entertain everyone. Here are the major theatrical releases for May 2019. **THERE WILL BE NO SPOILERS** **DATES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE**  The Intruder May 3 Dennis Quaid goes from starring the family-friendly "A Dog's Journey" to playing a total psycho in "The Intruder."  When a young couple purchases a home from Quaid's character Charlie, they didn't realize it came with an addition - Charlie himself, who can't seem to let his old home go.  I don't expect any twists or turns in this tale, and this looks like a film better fit for Lifetime than the big screen.  Long Shot May 3 Charlize Theron stars as Charlotte Field, the current Secretary of State and who's running for President.  Seth Rogen stars as Fred Flarsky, a
Read more

Major Theatrical Releases May 2016

-
Image
Major Theatrical Releases May 2016 May is the start of summer, which means warmer weather, no school, more sunshine, and of course, MAJOR BLOCKBUSTER MOVIES! The beginning of summer opens with some extremely strong outings which will shape the remaining months to come, and if these movies are any indication, it's going to be a great summer at the movies! That being said, here is the list of films being released nationally for the month of May, 2016. MAY 6 Captain America: Civil War Starring Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Anthony Mackie Directed by Anthony Russo & Joe Russo Synopsis (imdb.com): Political interference in the Avengers' activities causes a rift between former allies Captain America and Iron Man. Thoughts: Forget "Batman v. Superman," THIS is the match-up we've all been dying to see!  Based off the highly popular comic series, "Civil War" pits Earth's Mightiest Heroes against one anot
Read more

The Living Dead

-
Image
The Living Dead Starring Jessica Jane-Stanford, Paul Danan, Aurie 'Styla' Green, Hakan Hassan Directed by Fredi Nwaka What I appreciate the most about horror cinema is the fact that its the easiest genre for an up-and-coming director to direct, and provide a unique vision that's set apart from different genres - in horror, you can make anything if you set your mind to it.  Horror can also blend different genres within itself, producing horror/drama, horror/action, and even horror/comedy, which is the route taken by first-time director Fredi Nwaka's "The Living Dead" (also known in the U.K. as "Are We Dead Yet?") - it's not just a horror film, but also blends action and comedy and produces a worthwhile whole. Madison (Jessica Jane-Stanford), Barry (Aurie 'Styla' Green), Gavin (Paul Danan), Alan (Hakan Hassan) and Parksey (Bradley Turner) are a group of robbers who, after their getaway car breaks down, find themselves in front of a towering
Read more