The Gallows

The Gallows

Starring Reese Mishler, Pfeifer Brown, Ryan Shoos, Cassidy Gifford

Directed by Travis Cluff & Chris Lofing

The Story:

In 1993, an accident on stage during a high school production of "The Gallows" resulted in the death of Charlie Grimille.  Twenty years later, the school is putting on the production again, featuring football star Reese (Reese Mishler) as the lead, and drama queen Pfeifer (Pfeifer Brown) as his love interest.  Reese's friend Ryan (Ryan Shoos) hates being a part of the production, and plans on sabotaging the stage the night before the play so Reese can back out without getting in trouble.

So the night before the play, Reese, Ryan, and Ryan's girlfriend Cassidy (Cassidy Gifford) break into the school to demolish the set, but are interrupted by Pfeifer.  As they're about to leave, they find all the doors locked, and discover that all the damage they did to the set had been mysteriously put back together.

Soon they begin seeing shadows and experiencing phenomena that lead them to believe that Charlie's spirit is back, and seeking revenge for his untimely death.

The Synopsis:
In high school, I was a drama nerd.  I was a part of pretty much every play we did in high school, and I thought it was the coolest thing ever (it wasn't until a few years later when I watched our performances that I realized how truly awful we all were).  I also love horror, so a film like "The Gallows" should be right up my alley - but instead of nostalgic memories of high school plays and thrills and chills, I found myself yawning, being totally bored, and wishing the worst for the characters I was supposed to be rooting for.

I find it very odd that such a simple film was written and directed by two people, when in reality it could've been done by half a person - that's how much sense the film made.  There was no back story as to the events that led to the accident, no reasoning behind it, and our characters didn't even seem to understand what was happening to them.  The characters were so thinly written it was like the directors took every high school cliche in the book and amped them up to annoying levels, making every word they say sound like nails on a chalkboard.  There's no mystery to the film, and therefore no excitement or anticipation whatsoever.

Here's the story - a kid dies during a play, twenty years later he comes back to haunt the same play that's being done by attacking three kids who break into the school to destroy the set, and a girl who actually wants the show to go on.  There, that's it.  They try to throw in some twists, but even those are simple and profoundly stupid.

Speaking of stupid, the actors are pretty much as stupid as you'd see in any high school play.  The characters' names are the same as the actors portraying them, and I can only assume it's because if they were given different names they wouldn't know who the directors were talking to.  The lead role of Reese is your typical jock-with-a-heart who falls for the drama queen and wants the best for everyone.  Pfeifer is aforementioned drama queen who really wants this play to be put on - despite the obvious handicap of it being the same play where a kid died twenty years earlier.  Cassidy is the vapid, stupid cheerleader type who screams all her lines, and Ryan is the most annoying character put to screen since Jar Jar Binks - he's the token bully jock who makes fun of everyone and sees life as a total joke.

Speaking of joke, that's exactly what this film was - a joke.  The terror was nonexistent, and the directors used the age old method of jump scares to incite some form of fear in the viewer - but I was too distracted by my phone and thinking what I was gonna eat for dinner to pay attention.

The Summary:Terrible acting, a lame story, boring effects...basically, the film really WAS like a high school play - awful in every single way.

The Score: D-