Haunted House on Sorority Row

In an average year easily I see over 100 films and some films will be incredible and others; others not so much. After venturing out this past weekend to watch the latest creation by director Henrique Couto I felt the need to write a review of the film. First off I need to mention that the entire budget for this film was less than what is thrown away at the end of lunch for the average craft services table. The previous statement will be explained shortly. Is this a handicap for mister Couto? Absolutely not. This is not the first film I have seen by Henrique, but it far and away the best. I could continue to write adding platitudes in an attempt to convince you the reader that this film deserves your attention, but that may or may not convince you so I will just say this. The feeling he creates in this film is more unsettling at times than many of the big budget film to come out of the Hollywood movie factories. The micro-budget forces him to look for ways to "get you" that does not rely on the special FX. He uses common household items and awkward timing to create his very successful scares.

One change to Henrique's formula is enlisting an outside source to write the screenplay. Screenwriter John Oak Dalton created a twisted plot that was very enjoyable ride. After watching the film I am left to wonder if he had some childhood trauma he is not telling us about. I now feel the need to back and find other films he had his hand in to see if I can find an answer to this question. Erin R. Ryan is as always wonderful in the very creepy take on Sherrie and Haley Madison as Melissa was a better roll for her than when last I saw her and she ran with it. In the acting department there were in fact no weak points, but there was a certain "Gentleman" that stole the show. Those who saw the film know who I am talking about. Mr. Widing takes a bow. So as not to give away any plot points (I hate it when people do that) I will say that Eric was far and away the best part in a great film. I hate having to wait to see this film again till sometime later this year with its DVD release, but wait I will. This film just flat out fun to watch.

If you haven't checked out the films of Henrique Couto, do yourself a favor and go seek them out. While not my absolute favorite film of his (that honor will always be the first I saw, Depression: The Movie), it shows that the man and his stable of irregular regulars know exactly how to make no budget films that fire on all cylinders. This one is a ghost tale, or an urban legend, or a body horror, or a raunchy comedy. It all depends on how you look at it and which scene is playing now. It may sound jarring, but it actually works like gangbusters and manages the changes in pace and twists that come very well.

The acting, direction, sound design and cinematography are all far above what you would expect from an indie film such as this, I encourage you to give it a try. You won't be disappointed.

A group of young women buy a spooky old house in the middle of nowhere for their sorority. Turns out the house is haunted and preys on the occupants worst fears and biggest secrets or shames from their past.

The gals who bought the house are joined by a couple of friends to help them move their stuff into the new sorority house. You've got the nice guy, who wants to impress one of the gals, and there's Jim, the big jerk character. I find him pretty amusing, although I don't condone acting like that in real life.

There's a few actresses that frequently show up in Henrique Couto and Dustin Mills films, such as Erin R. Ryan, Joni Duran, and Haley J. Madison.

What in the name of God happened with this movie? I was quite a fan of THE BABYSITTER MASSACRE, but this film is one giant pile of nothing.

Remember those two cute actresses from THE BABYSITTER MASSACRE who did those hot nude scenes? They are also in this movie, and neither of them gets naked in this one. Just so you know. Good job, Mr. Director. You clearly know what your fans want.

The cinematography is complete garbage. It has that same crap hazy blue color scheme that you can find in every single Wal-Mart 5-dollar multi-pack DVD horror set from Echo Bridge.

The haunted house has no visual presence. It looks like a crappy rental property in Podunk, Trailerville. You know, the Amityville Horror house had presence. Mr. Director should have learned from that.

Compared to THE BABYSITTER MASSACRE, this movie is an utter disaster. AVOID AT ALL COSTS!

Oh heck yes I can tell this one is gonna be great just by the title. So it starts out with a couple cruising in a car and dude finds what appears to be an empty house where he can 'bang a chick in a haunted house'. Should be awesome! Aww cool and the girl's outfit is bangin itself. A little bit of Twisted Kilt action. Thong! Alright, things are lookin up. Oh no a skeletal body! Oh that's just the opening moments of this obvious classic.

Well at least they showed some BIG T'S IN THE shower scene. That's a plus! I just hate shower scenes with no skin shots. +1 Star!

Then the movie just starts into a slew of badly acted scenes. -1 Star.

Oh yeah then they go over the great concept of the 'Hoochi Olympics'. That's a great idea!

The rest of the movie is full of cheesey dialogue and quips. Some are funny, most are not. The movie is pretty anti-climactic. The 2nd half is actually not very good at all. -2 stars

3/10.