Havenhurst

The ending was so botched, I can't help thinking the crew itself got "evicted" half way through the filming (read, ran out of money or fell apart). Despite the weird behavior of several characters, the story had a good potential till it suddenly, stupidly, untimely took a twist that is so used and abused, it doesn't even elicit a chuckle anymore. It just made an impression that the crew abruptly pulled the plug in the middle of all the action. Movies like this make me wonder how someone gets so much money, convinces a bunch of talented people to participate (most of the actors, the operator was pretty good), and is not held accountable for making bad script decisions that inevitably cut any hope for a good payout. Anyway. If you are reading this review, be smarter than me and trust the low rating: it is not an underrated gem. You would waste your time.

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.

Julie Benz & Danielle Harris in the same film? Yes please, I thought when the credits began but alas it wasn't meant to be. Harris may possibly have been there as a favour to someone as her total screen time is barely 60 seconds.

Havenhurst is a gigantic apartment building for people to put their lives back together. It's full of former alcoholics, drug addicts and various criminal types and that's where our heroine moves in seeking her missing best friend.

If you play nice it's a great place to live but should you return to your old ways you'll find yourself in a world of trouble.

Julie Benz is an incredible actress, a tour de force and is always fantastic to watch. It's rare to see her as the leading lady so it was nice to see her get her chance here. She does a brilliant job and the movies concept is actually quite intriguing especially near the end where a big twist occurs.

I walked away from this feeling that something was missing, maybe the delivery wasn't on point, maybe it was too short or maybe the finale didn't appease me. Regardless Havenhurst is a decent enough watch and could potentially see a sequel or even a franchise.

The Good:

Julie Benz

Great twist

Very original

The Bad:

Awful cover

Feels incomplete somehow

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Julie Benz doesn't age, seriously it's getting ridiculous

Danielle Harris may well have been in the movie more than I realised, she's just so tiny maybe I missed her

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.

This could have been a Gothic horror but sadly it fails. It all starts promising with the dissapearance of a tenant. But once her best friend starts to investigate this flick has nothing really to offer.

It never becomes scary or bloody or at such a house even creepy. I admit, the beginning do shows some red stuff and in the basement there's a gory shot but overall something is missing to make it worth searching out. And the acting was okay but being low profile on the horror it makes it after a while hard to sit through. All characters and cliches are in this flick but it doesn't work out, it's all predictable.

Gore 0,5/5 Nudity 0,5/5 Effects 2,5/5 Story 2,5/5 Comedy 0/5