IMDb RATING
4.8/10
4.7K
YOUR RATING
A family flees a haunted New Zealand farmhouse. Scientists and a psychic investigate, encountering a malevolent spirit guarding the house's mysteries at all costs.A family flees a haunted New Zealand farmhouse. Scientists and a psychic investigate, encountering a malevolent spirit guarding the house's mysteries at all costs.A family flees a haunted New Zealand farmhouse. Scientists and a psychic investigate, encountering a malevolent spirit guarding the house's mysteries at all costs.
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It's one of those horror movies with a lower budget because apart of the usual swinging chandeliers, slamming doors and flying objects you won't see much else. Not that it's necessary bad if there's nothing else to see. They just worked within their budget. With the right ambiance and sound you can still create some suspense and in The Dead Room there is definitely some suspense. The last fifteen minutes you get a bit more and it's a pity they didn't do more with that in the movie. The cast is okay. I don't know any of them, maybe they are known in Kiwi land but I never heard of them. The acting is not the greatest but it's fine. All in all for a low budget movie it's still decent to watch once.
The Dead Room is an enjoyable "by the numbers" horror from down under in New Zealand.
Its nice to see a horror film that's not from America.Indeed, this flick does have a slightly different feel to it. It employs a local cast with your typical "fush and chups" Kiwi accents. Its a refreshing change.
In terms of story line this is formulaic stuff. As some have pointed out too, the end is a bit contrived and predictable. I agree but this film still offers up some good scares, nonetheless.
Its well acted too, gaining pace and gradually building tension. The scares are well managed and there is a sense of cold, icy menace that infuses this film.
All in all, quite watchable. A seven out of ten from me.
Its nice to see a horror film that's not from America.Indeed, this flick does have a slightly different feel to it. It employs a local cast with your typical "fush and chups" Kiwi accents. Its a refreshing change.
In terms of story line this is formulaic stuff. As some have pointed out too, the end is a bit contrived and predictable. I agree but this film still offers up some good scares, nonetheless.
Its well acted too, gaining pace and gradually building tension. The scares are well managed and there is a sense of cold, icy menace that infuses this film.
All in all, quite watchable. A seven out of ten from me.
An interesting little movie really.
The bad - The acting from some members was a bit stilted and there was no sense of history between them. We never got to know the backstory so I didn't really care for them. The reactions looked as if they were at times waiting for an offset director to give them the 'GO!' so the action can be added in later through CGI. The story line was a little too simple and the ending was a bit of a let down.
The good - loved that it was raw. Not overblown. I liked the slow build and that it felt subtle during the build-up. I liked it wasn't American, so no over the top teenagers screaming, no excessive CGI or ridiculous music. It was simple, so no 100 takes and angles, just straight shooting. As much as I complain about the actors in 'the bad' I enjoyed their presence (odd, I know).
It wasn't terrible, it wasn't great but I did think about it afterwards which is a bonus point. And, I'd watch it again.
So 5 for making me think.
The good - loved that it was raw. Not overblown. I liked the slow build and that it felt subtle during the build-up. I liked it wasn't American, so no over the top teenagers screaming, no excessive CGI or ridiculous music. It was simple, so no 100 takes and angles, just straight shooting. As much as I complain about the actors in 'the bad' I enjoyed their presence (odd, I know).
It wasn't terrible, it wasn't great but I did think about it afterwards which is a bonus point. And, I'd watch it again.
So 5 for making me think.
I've never seen anything quite like this, I loved the atmosphere, slow pacing at the beginning (which usually turns me off) and the gradual build & twists to a frightening end. I can't understand in the slightest where the current headline review sees this as a run of the mill movie & he knew everything that was on the cards, psychic much??
Was it perfect, no, of course not, occasionally the performances where a little 'off' but it passed quickly. All in all I found it different, quite eerie & it held my attention from beginning to end. I would happily recommend this to all looking for a ghost story with an enigmatic twist & a couple of really ticked off spirits.
Was it perfect, no, of course not, occasionally the performances where a little 'off' but it passed quickly. All in all I found it different, quite eerie & it held my attention from beginning to end. I would happily recommend this to all looking for a ghost story with an enigmatic twist & a couple of really ticked off spirits.
I don't quite understand some of the low reviews for this film, except perhaps that some people only appreciate fast paced, gore infused, CGI blockbusters. I thoroughly enjoyed this film. While the premise is not unique, the acting was very good, the dialogue well scripted, and the setting was excellent. Shooting a movie with only three primary actors is difficult, this movie pulled it off. While suspense builds slowly, it works well. With the onset of supernatural occurrences, the characters, for the most part, react like real people.
The ending was unexpected, and from my perspective, added an interesting twist I did not see coming.
All in all, I was not disappointed by this New Zealand addition to the horror genre. I rarely am when it comes to international horror. If you like a simple 'haunted house visited by paranormal investigators' film, I recommend this one.
The ending was unexpected, and from my perspective, added an interesting twist I did not see coming.
All in all, I was not disappointed by this New Zealand addition to the horror genre. I rarely am when it comes to international horror. If you like a simple 'haunted house visited by paranormal investigators' film, I recommend this one.
Did you know
- TriviaThe first film in the world to use Acoustic Science's new Rumble(TM) sound technology. The sound track literally shakes cinemas.
- GoofsWhen they are hiding in the Dead (safe) room, the window is covered with newspaper which clearly has the light of day shinning through it but when they open the doorway to look down the hallway it is still night time.
- Crazy creditsAfter the credits have rolled we go to one last scene of the hidden staircase.
- ConnectionsReferences S.O.S. fantômes (1984)
- How long is The Dead Room?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- La presencia
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- NZ$80,000 (estimated)
- Gross worldwide
- $136,319
- Runtime
- 1h 20m(80 min)
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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