Haunt

Director(s) - Scott Beck (The Bride Wore Blood, Nightlight) and Bryan Woods (Impulse, For Always)

Starring - Katie Stevens (Scream: Killer Party, Polaroid), Will Brittain (Kong: Skull Island, Savage Youth), and Lauryn Alisa McClain (The Gospel, Daddy's Little Girl)

Release Date - 2019

Genre - Horror

Tagline - "Some monsters are real"

Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     Extreme haunts are all the rage during the fall months.  People are forced to sign waivers prior to entering the attraction only to find themselves beaten, degraded, and pushed to their limits.  Almost as if they are put in a real life horror film.  I can see the appeal to this but most haunted houses and so forth are pretty dull in my opinion.   With their popularity among the horror loving crowd it only makes sense to incorporate those into horror films.  Movies like Hellfest and House That October Built have found a place among fans and last year Shudder released their exclusive Haunt.  It become a hit among horror circles and recently found a blu release from Ronin Flix.  I reached out and was able to snag a review copy of the film.  Thanks guys for sending this one my way!

     The film follows a group of college students looking for something to get into on Halloween when they decide to head out to an extreme haunt.  They sign the waiver and put their phones in a lock box before entering.  However, this is no normal extreme haunt.  The people working the attraction in masks have something far more sinister in store for those that enter.

     I have a lot of friends that loved Haunt so when I got the blu in to check out I was extremely excited.  In fact, I had to work with the pr firm representing this release some to ensure I got a copy in to review.  I really was excited to give this one a spin but I was over an hour in before I found anything that I liked.  I hate giving a negative review for a movie I receive in for review but I also refuse to lie about a movie.  The movie did pick up the last 30 minutes of the run time but the first hour is very predictable and cliched.  The acting in this one is standard slasher fare.  The cast does get into character but the characters are so cliched and stock that they don't stand out.  In a lot of the scenes they blend into the scenery so well that they almost feel as if they are no longer apart of the story.  The story for this one is very predictable but I did like some of the ideas the movie touched upon.  Having a horror film set in a haunted house always feel cheeky to me.  I love cheesy horror films but they need to embrace the cheese.  This film is way too serious to have these kind of cheeky moments.  I wasn't a fan of the haunted house aspect but I did like having serial killers who mutilate their faces after each kill.  I really liked that cult like mentality to the story but it wasn't explored nearly as much.  Finally, the film has some very impressive practical effects.  The film has no regard for the well being of humans and drives deep into hurting them.  Some amazing practical effects and gags.  Also, we get some great make-up effects as well but one of the killers had me laughing.  He looked like a Mudvayne reject which really had me cackling at the screen.  The others look realistic and impressive but this particular one is so absurd that you can't help but laugh.  Overall, Haunt takes an hour or so before it gets going.  That last half hour doesn't really save it but it does help.  For a first time watch it does have some entertainment value but I will not be tossing this one in again.