Dwelling

Well acted, good atmosphere, some nice scares, but just very far from original to stand out or get a high score

I loved this fresh take on the story of a haunted house! The fact that they moved in intentionally just made it so much scarier to me. Excellent character development and great scares! Just goes to show you shouldn't mess with the paranormal because they got what they bargained for and more. Great movie.

With a plot and setting that is far from original, "Dwelling" is able to inject a healthy dose of creepiness that makes up for most, but not all, of its flaws.

Mostly devoid of gore and jump scares, this film relies heavily on suspense and glimpses of terror. Those solely looking for gruesomeness will be sorely disappointed, but fans of the supernatural should find enough scares to make this worth a watch. I'll even give the film some credit for having more depth than most in the horror genre.

Now for the bad: the dialogue could not have been worse. I'm not convinced that the acting was all that bad, but the script left quite a bit to be desired. Plus, there were a few head scratching plot points that undoubtedly detracted from the film.

Despite the flaws, of which there were plenty, the evil did just enough to overcome and earn a respectable score. 6.5/10

Sixteen years after her mother died in a fire, Ellie (Erin Marie Hogan) moves into a home with her husband and niece. While it appears that they are a happy family unit, Ellie has other plans as the house has the rep of being a haunted house and she is hoping to use it (and her gifted niece) as a conduit to contact her mother to find out what really happened that night. This is a decent little horror movie from debuting writer-director Kyle Mecca, who gets good performances and delivers some moody scenes in this Buffalo, New York lensed flick. I wouldn't say it is 100% successful as there are some narrative stumbles, but it plays it totally serious and I appreciated that. I actually feel sorry for flicks like this. First, it doesn't stand a chance in today's market flooded with thousands of streaming horror flicks, all with similar looking artwork (graphic designers for streaming horror films be feasting!). How can you catch anyone's attention? Second, if you do manage to capture someone, most likely they will not enjoy it because they are seeking bombastic James Wan-esque The Conjuring vibes that have faux exorcists turned into Avengers superheroes. This results in schizo review pages where some applauded the slow pace and care with characters, while others shout "booooooooooring!" Anyway, like I said it was decent.

A good movie, good acting, we must remember how low budget these horrors are when viewing. I think they did an awesome job. I would recommend. Just watch. Great preforming it is worth the watch.