With low budget films you have to cut them some slack and not compare them to big budget films that rely on special effects to cover up their inadequacies. So, yes, this film has inadequacies and the budget isn't enough to cover them up. But, and this was a surprise to me, this film definitely delivers on plot, gory ways to die, and delivers some very tense moments.
The film is set in a warehouse that's been converted to a TV studio that is used to film a cheap 'getting in contact with the dead via a seance' programme that's entirely fake. The producer of the programme is thoroughly unlikeable, as are a few of the other characters, but most characters are just normal people.
During the filming of the latest episode of the series actual spirits descend on the studio and proceed to trap all the humans in the building before eliminating each person, one at a time, in a different and suitably horrible way. Some of the deaths are not shown on screen, saving on the budget I'd guess, but those you get to witness are quite well done - I particularly liked the screwdrivers in the door sequence.
For a low budget film, some of the effects are pretty bad, particularly those that rely on CGI, but the physical effects are all very good, if not particularly new. The blood is suitably dark and oozes rather than runs like coloured water, and the use of filters to show the viewpoint of the spirits is a good contrast to reality.
Sadly, the acting isn't quite good enough to carry the film, but there's usually another death just around the corner to distract you from wooden performances or badly delivered lines.
If this film had been released in 1978 instead of 2008 it would be a much loved cult classic. Sadly, in today's crowded market, it will probably slip under everybody's radar. However, if you do get a chance to see this film, you won't be disappointed, and the ending wraps things up neatly, which is so rarely true of many horror films these days.
