Dark House

Solid sound design with good use of surround. The picture looked boring. Very unimaginative story, totally unbelievable and a bit of a mess. Barely acceptable horror film lacking anything engaging. The problem is that they don't understand why people like dark house rides so when they make a film of it they get it wrong.

A troupe of actors hired for a haunted house attraction soon find that they are working in a true house of horror.

Can Jeffrey Combs carry a film? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. But it is nice to see that he actually appears as a main character here and not simply for five minutes so they can slap his name on the cover to draw in horror fans. While this may not be one of his best roles, he at least spends a fair amount of time on screen.

Unfortunately, there is nothing new about people going into a haunted house and soon finding out it is really a house full of horrors. I have seen one film already this month based on such a premise -- 2007's "House of Fears". While this may be the slightly better film -- and I stress "may" be -- it scores zero points for originality.

The filmmakers here have fun with their "Ghost in the Machine" type premise of an evil spirit infecting technology and using it to slaughter their victims, all in very macabre (and digitally created) ways. That's the good thing: they're clearly having a good time, giving their movie a fair bit of energy and pace and going to town with the visual effects and splatter. There's also some dark comedy thrown into this mix, and a surprise or two (there are some jump scares in this that actually work, and that's because they're NOT expected). In the end, one is likely to forget this pretty quickly, but enjoy themselves while the movie plays out.

Meghan Ory stars as Claire, who as a seven year old girl was witness to the massacre of some other children in a foster home. The perpetrator was devoutly religious and over the top, a sadistic foster mother named Mrs. Darrode (Diane Salinger). Now Claire is a teen aged drama student who learns that "house of horrors" creator / showman Walston (Jeffrey Combs, who may provide enough reason to watch for those who otherwise wouldn't bother checking this out) is setting up his latest attraction in that same house. He hires her and her fellow students to interact with his holographic creations; Claire has encouraged her peers to participate because her memories of that traumatic day are still tormenting her, and she wants closure.

I frequently throw out the word "undemanding" in some reviews, because that's pretty much what one often has to be to go with entertainment like this. Some people may find it just too ridiculous, and unbelievable, to get on board, but others will like the cool holograph characters and the grisly (if cartoon like) kill scenes. The actors adequately do what they have to do. Combs plays his part in the appropriately hammy fashion, and is the true highlight of the film. Salinger is an amusing villainess; 80s film buffs may remember her as Simone in "Pee-wee's Big Adventure". Erin Cummings ("Bitch Slap") is foxy reporter Paula, Tom Gulager (the "Feast" series) a mad scientist, R.A. Mihailoff ("Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre") one of the apparitions, and Don Stark ('That '70s Show') has a small part as a detective.

All in all, this quick and silly romp is agreeable enough to watch.

Six out of 10.

Actors work at a fake haunted house only to find out it's real.

DARK HOUSE aims for the always popular haunted house movie but falls way short. For starters, it takes 30 minutes to get to the house & no scares once there.

Coombs is good but the back story is lame & grinds the movie to a halt every time it's explained, which is often. The other actors are all serviceable but no one stands out. And, I'll add, a twist so cornball it needs to be explained.

It does not fall under the so bad it's good category, as it's not bad, just boring.

For Coombs fans only.

The infamous Darroh (or something similar that almost sounds like dark) House in which seven foster children where brutally murdered 14 years ago, is being reopened as a horror attraction called Dark House. The owner of this horror bonanza (Waltson) hires six actors from an advanced acting class to scare the audiences. One of them, Claire (played by Megan Ory), witnessed the brutal suicide of the children's tormentor and views this new position as a way to bury the demons of the past.

To assist are brave actors, the house works by an advanced hologram system designed to react to fear and excitement. The system gets possessed by the evil ghost of the foster mother and madness ensues. Soon our main protagonist and her friends realize they are locked in with no escape. To makes matters worse these holograms have the power to do real harm. Will they make it out alive?

Overall I believe this movie grades into solid C (C+ maybe). The hologram idea is a little far-fetched, but it creates an interesting movie, not a terrible scary one. The acting is on cue with this type of movie (Including Jeffery Combs from the infamous Re-Animator) and the ending is a surprise, a rarity these days. If your in for something a little more cheesy then Waxwork, give it a gander.