Cubbyhouse

Was it a horror flick? No. Was it a comedy? No. Was it a drama? No. Was it a action movie? No. Was it a torture of 1.30 hours? YESSSS. Rest you folks are intelligent.

Suffice it to say that this substandard B has nothing to save it - not an interesting plot or even one tolerably decent actor. Josh Leonard of Blair Witch fame does little to help matters. Do yourself a favor and leave this one on the shelf at your local video store.

I didn't expect much seeing as how even the rental box looked somewhat cheesy. Here it's called 'Hellion: The Devil's Playground' how spooky, too bad it didn't live up to it's title. I didn't like any of the characters, well, except Danny, he was the only one who didn't annoy me. I found myself laughing at situations instead of being scared. The deaths, special effects and even acting is incredibly lame. This plot has been done many times before, and more creatively at that. I didn't feel sorry for the characters dying at all, only thing I regret is paying 3 dollars too much for this video. I wouldn't recommend it unless you like low-budget, unoriginal horrors.

Called The Cubbyhouse on release in the U.K, The Third Circle is an Australian made horror movie. A divorcee and her three children move back to her native Australia with her, and they start to settle in to their new home, but the two younger children become strangely obsessed with the Cubbyhouse in the Garden. Their older brother Danny, along with next door's teenage daughter Bronwyn discover the Cubbyhouse's gruesome secret - 30 years previous, a man allegedly murdered his two young children there.

There appears to be a demonic spirit in the Cubbyhouse, and Danny and Bronwyn fight to save the children from it and to destroy the Cubbyhouse for good.

Better than I thought it would be, but still pretty cheesy and.. y'know.. Craig McLachlan... but if there's nothing else on, or all the big movie are out to rent already, it's worth a shot, expect to roll your eyes at the silly ending though ;)

After a troubled divorce in the United States, Lynn Graham (Belinda McClory) returns to her hometown in Australia with her teenage son Danny (Joshua Leonard) and the children Ivan (Joshua Tainish-Biagi) and Natalie (Amy Reti) that were born in America. Lynn can only afford to buy and old house nearby her sister's home and the real state agent Bill (Craig McLachlan) omits the clause that the house should never be sold to a family with children.

Ivan and Natalie are fascinated by the wendy house in the backyard and soon they are possessed by an evil force that is trapped within the cubby house. Meanwhile Danny dates his next door neighbor Bronwyn (Lauren Hewett) and they meet the disturbed Harlow (Jerome Ehlers), whose brother Harrison has been interned in a madhouse for thirty years after slaughtering his two children in a satanic ritual. Danny has nightmares and notes that the behavior of his siblings is weird. Further, he finds that they have drawn the cubby house exactly identical to the drawing made by the diseased children.

"Cubbyhouse" is not an unforgettable or great horror B-movie. However, it is not so bad as the IMDb User Rating (2.9) indicates. The story is not original or scary and has many flaws, like for example, how could Lynn's sister ignore the past of the evil house or many characters that dies or vanish without any further consequence, but it is enjoyable. For a 2001 low-budget film, the special effects are reasonable despite the rip-off "Evil Dead" camera work. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "Casa do Terror" ("House of the Terror")