Havenhurst

Havenhurst is a sprawling Gothic building that has been turned into a halfway house for recovering addicts. Its latest tenant is Jackie (Julie Benz), an ex-alcoholic who discovers that her new abode harbours a horrifying secret: it was once home to one of America's first serial killers, H.H. Holmes, and someone seems to be following in his bloody footsteps.

To be honest, there's not a whole lot of originality going on in Havenhurst, the plot taking the well worn 'creepy old house with a secret' format (complete with hidden passageways and trapdoors) and adding a little Saw-style punishment for good measure, as meted out by cold-hearted landlady Eleanor (Fionnula Flanagan) and her sons whenever their tenants fall off the wagon.

Despite a strong central performance and just a smidge of gruesome gore, the film never really delivers the chills, failing to get the pulse pounding with its hackneyed attempts at eerie atmospherics (the whole building could do with better lighting) and predictable jump scares (I lost count of how many times a creepy figure would suddenly rush past the camera in the foreground or behind a character).

In short, Havenhurst is by no means a terrible film, just not all that inspired.

5.5 out of 10, rounded up to 6 for bumping off Danielle Harris, horror's most over-rated scream queen, as soon as possible.

What could potentially have been a very interesting and unique horror movie, ended up being a generic storyline suffering at the hands of the writers.

The story did have potential, but writers Andrew C. Erin and Daniel Farrands might have had ideas that were great, but they just failed to transcribe those idea over into something that would translate into something great and interesting on the screen. No, the story just permeated mediocrity and half-heartedness all the way through. Furthermore, it didn't help one bit that the storyline was completely devoid of anything even remotely scary.

What did work out quite well in favor of the movie was the house and the design idea behind it. There were some very interesting ideas and concepts here that were quite nicely brought to life on the screen. But again, it just lacked that element of horror.

"Havenhurst" also had some adequate acting performances to boast it, although they were struggling with a very inadequate script, and it was weighing the actors and actresses down visibly on the screen.

For a horror movie, I will say that "Havenhurst" belongs more in the mystery genre with just a hint of thriller to it. Which are the tags of the genre here on IMDb. I just sat down to watch it because I thought it was going to be a horror movie. So I was naturally very disappointed with the end result.

"Havenhurst" is a mediocre movie that came and went without any fanfare and without leaving any impressions in the horror genre, because it just wasn't equipped with fangs or nails.

A woman is in a sobriety program after her drunk driving ended up killing her daughter. She moves into a huge Gothic style apartment where other addicts reside trying to better themselves. If anyone has a slip and falls off the wagon the house removes them fast. She tries to find out where the house takes these people who are never seen again.

This is loosely based on a late 1800's serial killer H.H. Holmes who built a murder house and claimed to kill over 200 people but was closer to 10 in reality. The house in the flick does have some cool trap doors and hidden rooms where some sick surgeries take place. There are some good gore effects but they are only utilized a couple of times. Not much time is spent giving any background to the story or even the characters really, which makes you kind of step back a bit, instead of immersing yourself into the story. I didn't like the ending but a sequel could fix everything.

5 twitching torsos out of 10.

A troubled young woman takes up residence in a Gothic apartment building where she must confront a terrifying evil.

Director Andrew C. Erin (Embrace of the Vampire) brings us this film from a screenplay co-written with Daniel Farrands (Amityville: The Awakening). We also get music from tomandandy (Mothman Prophecies, The Strangers and a couple Resident Evil films), some of the best in the business. Farrands may be best known for writing "Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers" or for being involved in various documentaries about 1980s film franchises. He would appear to love that 1980s slasher feel, and (if so) it definitely comes through here. Although ostensibly a haunted house story, this is really a slasher at heart.

The film opens with a pulse-pounding score, superior gore effects and a dazzling cameo from horror goddess Danielle Harris. Unfortunately only a cameo rather than anything approaching a "supporting" role, but the rest of the cast is just great. We have powerful acting from Julie Benz (Dexter, Buffy, Two Evil Eyes), and an evil maternal instinct from Fionnula Flanagan (The Others, Trash Fire).

What sells the film more than anything is the cinematography, as the colorization is rich, and provides a nice palette against which to tell a moving story. The apartment offers up the best possible use of space -- sometimes overly spacial and intricately ornate, sometimes claustrophobic, and with a few nods to other horror classics such as "The Shining" and even "Psycho". The exterior aerial shots look great, and it left me wondering if this is a real building or if some crafty CGI is used.

In recent years, public discourse was concerned about the so-called surveillance state, and those fears come to life here. We even have secrets behind the walls (reminiscent of "Crawlspace") and a plot twist that ties this (fictional) film to the upcoming (factual) "Devil in the White City". Although this story of murder and disappearance could be in any era, this surveillance aspect makes it especially timely, even if not intended by the writers.

I highly recommend "Havenhurst". Though it seems to have been pushed back a year, it will be an early strong contender for great horror films of 2017. The film should be available widely starting on February 10, 2017.

The only reason you may want to watch the incessantly sullen horror flick "Havenhurst" is if you happen to be a fan of Julie Benz from the long-running Showtime series "Dexter". That is the only reason.

And even then...