Haunt (2019)
Directed by Scott Beck & Bryan Woods
Seldom a horror movie releases that isn’t a remake, or isn’t an adaptation of a novel, or tv show, or creepy pasta or some shit. Haunt is one of those rarities. So instantly I was intrigued. When Joe Bob put his seal of approval on it, I knew I needed to see it.
Haunt is about a group of friends that go to an extreme haunted house attraction in the middle of nowhere. Then once there, shit hits the fan. One by one the group gets murdered in intense and creepy ways. The story isn’t much new, it has been done before. Hell The Houses October Built is similar to this. Is it worth a shit? Let’s talk about it.
The acting is pretty solid all around, and I was really intrigued with Harper (Katie Stevens) she does a great job. Her character is likable and you sympathize with her all along. Also her name is Harper and that’s my daughter’s name so she’s instantly cool right? Nathan (Will Brittain) is the nice guy trope. He’s ok I guess, does a good enough job for such a flat uninteresting character. The others are kind of blah, Andrew Lewis Caldwell plays Evan, you might remember him from the movie College, that few people saw because it was basically an American Pie ripoff. He plays a similar character in this, the fat, brash idiot cookie cutter.
The kills are intense. The masks the killers wear are creepy, and their faces also creepy haha. There is a good amount of gore to quench that thirst and a fair amount of suspense and tension to also satiate that desire. I found myself pulled into this movie, and didn’t even play on my phone much, which by today’s standards is pretty good. I really don’t have too much beef with this other than some of the characters are throw aways. It’s funny for a movie that is only 1 hour and 32 minutes that it felt like it could have been cut down a little more. The end kind of dragged a little.
If you’re looking for something newer and entertaining, I would suggest this. If you want something completely new and original, maybe this isn’t the choice. While parts might be simple or cliche, I really had a good time watching this and the tension built up was a surprise. I give this a solid B+. It could have been better, but it is far from bad.
