Spirit Trap

After seeing the advert for 'Spirit Trap' in my local Cinema, I already had low hopes for the film. And it certainly did not disappoint. Its almost as if the director sat down and said to himself "How should i not make a film?" and then proceeded to film everything he thought of.

The center point of the film, the haunted house, looks like a set used in amateur theatre with over exaggerated lighting effects and tacky looking decor. The editing was appalling, cutting from scene to scene every few seconds, and lets just not mention the acting.

Overall, the film feels fake, bland, lacks a decent storyline and generally feels like something a 10 year old could think up with no problem.

Spirit Trap is a typical, contemporary ghost story where everything is a result of something horrible, that has happened in the past and most of the film's runtime is used to unlock the secret. Usually most ghost stories resemble the classic horror movies about a haunted mansion, surrounded by darkness and mystery. Spirit Trap is a modern version of The Hauting. At least the first 20-25 minutes will be very familiar and probably boring for Haunting fans.

Four students receive a phone call and are offered lodging in an old, creepy house. Of course, they are all different and problems occurs immediately after the house's newest inhabitants learn about the presence of a drug dealer as their co-tenant. Later on, one of the teens fixes a spirit clock and now he is able to witness the events that has taken part many years ago. The characters are now convinced that the house is haunted by ghosts.

To be honest, I watched the movie out of desperation. I didn't have the time to pick up another horror movie and Spirit Trap was the only possibility. The movie is not bad. It ain't good either. Decent horror flick for time killing. One thing that managed to surprise me was the acting. Better than I asked for. Completely unknown actors give everything to recreate realism.

We should also take notice on the fact that the movie is British. In my opinion, most good horror flicks come from Britain these days. Yes, Spirit Trap is not among the good lists of great horror movies, but it could have been much worse if it looked like most American ghost stories.

I applaud the idea of putting more depth into a rather dull story, but the plot loses its potential soon after the creators create sub-plots concerning the characters's past. The main girl has killed her mother, the drug dealer's wife doesn't love him and stuff like that. Cheap tries of dry, needless drama that has absolutely nothing to do with what we cheer for when it comes to ghost flicks.

I won't recommend Spirit Trap to anyone, but calling it bad is a big mistake. It tries something new and even though it fails in provoking the viewer, it includes scenes that worth a look.

Okay, this movie wasn't THAT BAD. I've seen horror movies that were way worse. (The Black Dahlia Haunting, for instance. I have no idea how it managed a higher rating than this movie. If you ever have to choose between the two, choose this one.) There were a few "Wtf is going on?" moments, but nothing too bad. However, I personally wouldn't pay to watch it. It's just something entertaining to watch if you have nothing better to do. The reason I watched it was because it has Billie Piper in it. The acting was pretty good, which I was not expecting, due to the low rating here on IMDb. If you're a fan of Billie, you may as well watch it.

In London, four students have a call from the student accommodation office of the local university offering lodging in an old house. The psychic Jenny (Billie Piper), the graph design student Nick (Sam Troughton), and the couple of lovers and drug dealers Tom (Luke Mably) and Adele (Emma Catherwood) are welcomed by the weird Tina (Alsou). Nick fixes a spirit clock, and sooner Jenny sees the crimes that happened in the house in the past, when two lovers died. Along the two next days, Jenny, Nick, Tom and Adele disclose that each one of them had killed a person on the past and also that they are trapped in the house, since a ghost is claiming a killer for a killer to release the soul of Edmund Joseph.

The storyline of "Spirit Trap" is very interesting and quite original, but the screenplay is not so good since presents this idea in a confused way. I liked the concept that a soul could be exchanged by another in hell provided the basic rule of "a killer for a killer" is accomplished. I liked also the performance of the unknown cast. In my opinion, there are some unfair and some exaggerated reviews in IMDb, since this movie is neither a crap nor a masterpiece, only another reasonable and entertaining haunted house horror film .My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "A Armadilha dos Espíritos" ("The Trap of the Spirits")

Standard haunted house thriller, but since it is a British flick, much of he dialogue is unintelligible. What it boils down to is several attractive youths move in an abandoned House where murder has been committed in the past. Each has his/her own shady story to tell. Some people die, and spirits abound. The sets are impressive, reminding me of Hammer's Dracula castle sets. The always attractive Billie Piper plays a psychic, and is the main reason for watching this turkey. A couple of halfway decent sex scenes keep one's interest from totally flagging. Shot in Romania, apparently on a set left over from another movie. Now that's economizing! That's how THE TERRROR with Jack Nicholsoand and Boris Karloff got made.