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.

I totally loved it. Henrique Couto hit this one out of the park. If you do not like independent films you have not seen this one. The only way I can imagine it better would to have seen it at the big screen. The acting was top notch. The actresses not only beautiful but extremely talented. I strongly require mend going out and picking up a copy.This Dayton based cast and crew can hold their own against Hollywood Blockbuster. I can only imagine what Couto could do with the massive major motion pitcher budget. I expect to see great things from Couto in the future. And the same from this awesome cast. Without giving any spoilers all I can say is this is a must see movie.

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.

This has got to be the worst written, worst acted movie I have ever seen. I've seen better acting at an 8th grade Christmas play. If you like to look at ugly girl's breast, then that's about all it offers. But, trust me, they aren't that nice to look at.

The writing is bad enough - there is no great plot here. The dialog is not very true. But the worst part of this film has to be the acting. They should have gone to acting school. They cannot deliver a line without it looking like it was being fed to them in their ear. It's just a stupid attempt to get people to watch it because there are naked female bodies in it.

There are much, much better options out there. If I could give it less than 1 star, I would. Life is too short to waste watching this film.

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!