Director – Henrique Couto (Scarewaves, Babysitter Massacre)
Starring – Adam Scott Clevenger (Scarewaves), Henrique Couto (Bleeding Through), and Joni Durian (Applecart)
Release Date – 2015
Rating – 3/5
Tagline – “They wanted fame. They found pure evil”
Henrique Couto and myself have a rocky relationship. Henrique is one hell of a guy and one of the nicest guys I have met over the years here at Horror Society. We actually got to hang out at Cinema Wasteland along with the beautiful Erin R. Ryan where we enjoyed some delicious Applebees and a ton of laughs. Though we get along, I sometimes don’t get along with his films.
The first film of his that I was able to review was Bleeding Throughand it was not something that I enjoyed. I then followed that up with Babysitter Massacre, Haunted House on Sorority Row, and Scarewaves. All three were outstanding horror films that really raise the bar for indie horror. This made me a fan but deep down I was always afraid that he would make another film like Bleeding Through and I would not enjoy it. Would Alone in the Ghost House be that film?
**Spoiler Alert**The film follows a couple and their cameraman as they explore haunted locations as they travel across the country. They meet up with a friend and decide to visit the Devil’s Commune where an artist of sorts tortured his model girlfriend and the remainder of the commune living on the property. They decide to spend the night and record.
They hire a medium they found on Craigslist. She is a strange and warns the others that staying there would result in their death. They refuse to listen to her and she leaves. They prepare to spend the night and soon learn why no one ventures into this home anymore.**Spoiler Alert**
Found footage usually lets me down. The stories are weak, the camera work makes me feel sick, and the kills usually take place off camera. The Blair Witch Project was fun for what it was but it was far from being a classic horror movie. Most of the other found footage films tries to capture the tension and suspense found in this film but all they do is make home videos set against a horror backdrop. Alone in the Ghost House was one of those films that made me think I was going to hate it until the very end until it unleashed some real Hell.
The acting with this one is solid but found footage acting is always awkward to me. They try to act natural like real people carrying on real conversation but all they really do is awkwardly talk to each other in an unnatural manner. I sometimes call this the anti-Tarantino dialogue. This isn’t the cast’s fault but it does come with the found footage territory.
The story for this one is one we have seen several times before among horror. Hell, it is even the basis for several other found footage flicks. However, very few end like this one does. It turns from sane, in a sense, and then goes bat shit crazy with Erin R. Ryan going off the wall. The end of the story was worth sitting through the beginning of the film.
Finally, those of you looking for some gore will not find any here. The film does have some kills but they all mostly take place off camera with the exception of one or two that is nothing gruesome or memorable. The practical effects are minimal and work for the kills but that is about it. Overall, Alone in the Ghost House is a found footage film that makes you think that it is just another mediocre found footage horror flick that can be easily forgotten but ends on a high note. The ending is awesome and well worth the running time. Check it out.
