Fear House

Fear House is the 11th movie in the Paranormal Investigations franchise but alike all the rest shares absolutely nothing in common with them.

The film manages to stand out from the others, it's not found footage, it's not a generic ghost film where you don't see anything and the production values are clearly considerably higher.

It tells the story of a group of friends, relatives and business associates of a writer who moved into a castle for inspiration. 9 months later and nobody has heard from her so they go looking only to find more than they could have ever expected.

Truth be told I was fairly impressed initially, it was well made and blew all the previous 10 films out of the water! Sadly the quality didn't stay consistent and the plot fell apart along with the rest of the movie.

I'm quite saddened by this because I'd like to see something good come out of this absolutely dire franchise. Despite my rating this is still one of the best of the bunch and if you compare them it doesn't take much effort to see why.

A passable little affair that with a bit of better writing could have been an enjoyable movie. At least with ratings like this Witchcraft will remain the worst horror franchise in history.

The Good:

Better than you'd expect deaths

Far higher production quality than all the rest in the franchise

The Bad:

Falls apart a tad

FEAR HOUSE suggests a place that you cannot escape from without dying. In this case, it is an old house where a writer lives. Some old friends and relative stop in for a visit, and find her in a traumatized state. She warns them that no one upon entering can ever leave. The house makes them visualize their biggest fears (hence the title), and then they die. This is a no-budget job, badly acted (with your typical no-named cast) and sporting inferior special effects. However, I like the concept, which for those old enough to remember, came from the original THE HAUNTING. That's why I gave it a 4 instead of a 1. But please, watch it at your own discretion.

"Fear House" synopsis; Relatives and colleagues of reclusive writer Samantha Ballard track her to an isolated home in the California desert where they discover her some nine months later severely traumatized. She greets them with a grim announcement that they will die if they attempt to leave the house. After Samantha's ex-husband and his girlfriend suffer horrible deaths while trying to escape, the others realize that she was serious. They begin to scheme a safe way out even as the malevolent force that rules the house stirs the worst fears of each of them, causing them to wonder: Can they escape the evil house before their fears kill them all? When I viewed "Fear House", I got the same feeling as when I viewed the film "Phantasm" in 1979, that the horror genre may have a new talented director. Of course Don Cosscarelli went on to have a good cult following of his films (Phantasm 5 is in production) and I feel director Michael Morris may have a better future ahead of him. "Fear House" doesn't rely on over-the-top gore and blood special effects, but the psychological fear of what really scares us deep inside. While trapped in the house, each person meets their deepest fears head on and it's up to them on how to handle it as to whether they will survive or not. This film is part Phantasm, part Evil Dead and part Black Christmas (the original). It's not what you see that terrorizes you, but your own sub-conscience is your enemy.

I have seen a lot of bad movies, but this must be the worst. The special effects (if you can call them special effects) are terrible. I can't believe this is a movie made in 2008. When you see it you'll think it is made in 1970 or so. How low budget can you go. To bad for the wasted time...

Never the less, I watched the movie completely since I hadn't anything else to do. Some parts of this movie is even humoristic. Some actors can use some more acting lessons. The plot however isn't that bad and it does get a bit better towards the end of the movie. So, in conclusion, the story ain't that bad, but the effect are in the style of jaws 1, you know, when the shark breaks trough the glass, it goes in frames, same here...

After reclusive writer Samantha Ballard hasn't gotten in touch with her brother Anthony in months, he along with her publisher, his assistant, and the previous home-owners daughter all decide to go up to the secluded house that she had recently bought. But the house, as always is the case in these type of movies, is haunted and they, along with Sam's husband and his girl whom haven't been invited, appear to be in for one hell of a night.

And the viewer is in for one hell of a night of...of utter boredom. I'm really sorry but this movie just didn't really do it for. Trust me, I've since worse low-budget horror films than this one. A lot worse...by far. But at the same time the story didn't snap or crackle for me (nor did it pop, by the way). The deaths were too quasi-laughable and didn't really fit into the tone the film was trying to have. And talking of the acting caliber, well that's like shooting fish in a barrel, so I'll digress.

My Grade: D+

Eye Candy: Meredith Barnett gets topless briefly

DVD Extras: Commentary with Director Micheal Morris, actress Alecee Jones & actor Matthew Stiller; just under 3 minutes of outtakes; Actor rehearsal; and the promo trailer for this film