Sunday 10 October 2010

Dark House (2009)



PLOT: A group of actors are hired for the opening night of a 'Haunted House' attraction, set in a house where 17 years earlier, the massacre of 7 foster children occurred...

REVIEW: I'd never heard of this film before, but I thought I'd give it a watch, as I enjoy films like this, such as The Haunting and House on Haunted Hill and the whole premise sounded promising. I felt a little let down however, as it is so similar to these films, there was hardly any originality and so it ended up being fairly predictable.

In comparison to House on Haunted Hill, a renowned 'thrill-master' decides to create an attraction where an unspeakable atrocity has occurred. As you may have already guessed, the attraction soon descends into chaos, as the ghost of the foster mother returns to wreak havoc and catch up with the protagonist Claire, Meghan Ory (Vampire High). In Ory's first title role, she plays a girl haunted by a past visit to the Dorrode House but unable to remember exactly what happened there 17 years ago. The opening scenes depict the aftermath of the massacre, with dead children strewn throughout the house. These scenes are quite gruesome and shocking but the later deaths are dealt with pretty swiftly, with gore being higher on the agenda than shocks or tension.

There were certain plot aspects that seemed pointless to include, such as the attraction between Rudy, Matt Cohen (Boogeyman 2, The Outside), and Claire, which never really got resolved.

However, there was a slight twist towards the end, which I was impressed with as it re-aroused my interest and the story ended well, with a decent enough conclusion.
If you're looking for an outstandingly original horror, then this is probably not for you, but if you just want a quick scare, I'd recommend it!

RATING: 6/10