House of Horrors: Gates of Hell

Director - Daniel Monroe (House of Horrors: The Movie)
Starring - Doug Bruch (Twice the Fun), Tim Bunch (House of Horrors: The Movie), and Gary Dellaneve
Release Date - 2012
Genre - Horror
Tagline - "There has always been darkness..."
Format - DVD (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     Haunted houses are popular attractions during the holiday season and are required passing for any horror fan.  Every year horror fans and holiday goers alike flock to these attractions to get some thrills and chills.  Sadly, I live in an area where there is no haunted house within driving distance.  With that being said, there is several haunted attractions throughout the U.S. that stay open year round to offer the paying guests some real scares.  A few months back I watched a trailer for the horror film House of Horrors: Gates of Hell.  The film looked fun as hell and full of campy moments.  I reached out for a review copy and was sent one to check out.  Thanks guys.

     The film follows the team behind House of Horrors as they prepare for opening night.  This year's theme is the gates of hell and are working to make every exhibit fit this theme.  What they don't know is that this year's theme brings about a curse.  An ancient evil is awaken and is killing everyone there one by one along with any guests that enter.  With their numbers dwindling, they realize they are all dying and start looking into the matter and reach out to a professional on the matter.  He tells them what they have to do to rid their haunted attraction of the evil but they soon learn that one of their fellow co-workers is actually the ancient evil.
     When I first saw the trailer for the film, I have to admit that I was overwhelmed by it.  The trailer made the film look like a balls out horror flick with crazy visual effects and non-stop action.  Sadly, when I got the film I quickly realized that this was not the case.  The film was able to provide the visual effects but they were not used the way the trailer lead you to believe.  The acting in this one is indie good.  The entire cast has a lot of heart and spirit but lacked the experience needed to make their roles truly believable.  The story for this one is one we have seen before but never in this type of setting.  This was pretty fun and really had some twists that the viewer did not see coming.  The film is able to balance suspense, tongue-in-cheek humor, and a decent horror story.  With all that being said, the story is still one we have seen several times in the past and most, with the exception of the twists, will feel familiar among real horror fans.  Finally, the film has several kill scenes and they are truly let downs.  The kills are all the same consisting of the cast member standing there flailing his arms while computer generated flames engulf them.  They then fade into a skeleton and fall on the ground.  This is something we all have seen before and it was a very big disappointment.  the CGI looks horrible which leaves a bad taste in the viewer's mouth.  Overall, House of Horrors: Gates of Hell is a flawed flick that has some fun moments.  This film, I assume, is meant to be a companion piece to an actual haunted house attraction.  Keep that in mind when checking this one out.