Haunted

All us reviewers should state some qualifier up front so folks know whether to keep reading. So I'll say I think Jeepers Creepers is a modern masterpiece so you'll know where I'm coming from. I also really liked JC2 but what the hell happened to Victor Salva after that? Rosewood Lane was poor and Jeepers 3 sucked so badly it almost pulled my own soul out! This film, it turns out, was made between those two turkeys ( I didn't even know it existed) and it's his 2nd best film. But what got me the most is how many callbacks there are to the Creeper-verse. Intentional or is he just repeating himself? It's an interesting film (with a weak beginning) but once it gets going it takes turn after turn into surprising territory - just like Jeepers Creepers. And then there's the sixties vehicle driven by the leads - I'm not a car nut but its almost a clone of the impala from the earlier film and the passenger even does the same hand movement out the window; the coat and general mien of the Tobin Bell character harks to the Creeper, as does the location; there's a pivotal diner scene; creatures are driven over again and again and jump back up; even some shots and staging is almost identical to JC (spin out the vehicle on the old road shots anyone!). And even though it gets somewhat sloppy toward the end (a lotta strands to tie together) when it hits its mark its really very good (creepy, axe dragging figures scuttling about is a particularly original vision) and it hits more than it misses. A few of the FX are pretty bad but it doesn't outweigh the positives and, all in all, I'll happily watch this again next Halloween season.

"Dark House" was interesting in its own way, and it did have some rather interesting aspects. Well, that was right up to a certain point, where it was revealed what was going on and it dawned on the audience. From there, then the movie took a turn for the worse in my opinion.

Director Victor Salva did manage to put together an interesting movie that had a good amount of suspense and building up thrills. Just as shame that the movie took that turn. And no, I am not revealing what it is.

There is a nice sense of fear and dread to the movie, especially because for three-quarters of the movie you have no real idea what is going on. And the events that do take place are a little bit odd, disturbing and just downright weird.

The people on the cast list were doing good jobs with their given roles, especially Tobin Bell, who really stood out in this movie with his dark charisma and usual strange charms.

However, for a horror and thriller, then "Dark House" didn't really push any boundaries or bring to the game something that hadn't been seen or done before. Of course, the turn of events in the last quarter of the movie is a matter of personal preference whether you like it or not. I didn't care much for where the turn took the movie, and as such the movie did, in my opinion, drop well down in overall enjoyment. As such, then I am rating "Dark House" 5 out of 10 stars.

Victor Salva is up to his old tricks in DARK HOUSE, another predictable horror yarn featuring buff young men who invariably disrobe at some point for the role. I'm surprised that Salva still manages to find work in Hollywood, not because of his private indiscretions (to put it mildly), but because his films are just so pitiful. CLOWNHOUSE, the two JEEPERS CREEPERS flicks, they've all been below par and DARK HOUSE is no exception.

The house of the title is an ancestral home sought out by a group of faceless teenage types without an ounce of charisma between them. The house has some magical properties including the ability to move at will, but other than that there's little of interest here, apart from the requisite bloodshed. No scares, no atmosphere, just monotony. Lesley-Anne Down has a minor part and there's a nicely complex turn from SAW's Tobin Bell, but otherwise DARK HOUSE is a mess and nothing you've not seen before.

This movie could have been something. The plot is pretty cool, well written and dynamic. The acting is the average for an horror movie. But what makes this not get a 6 or even a 7 to me, is the directing. The director is pretty lame connecting scenes, creating the atmosphere, making the things work. At some point i was thinking to myself: "Dude,this movie is not SO low budget." Cause some of the locations really seemed to cost a little money, the actors are know of the public and even have the Jigsaw on it. Someone paid for this and i really hope that it has been the director cause he's the reason this movie is bad. Anyway, if you don't have nothing to do some random night, give this one a try. It may not amuze you the way it should but can give you some laughs. The sound track is almost inexistent, you can barely hear something there. I don't know what else to say. I watched it just because we are in that period of the year thats the releases are just a little few.

It starts off pretty well, don't they all though, then it gets a bit rushed and disjointed in the middle to end. They could have run another half hour in the second half to explain what the hell was going on a bit more. Not a bad movie though.