House of Fears

i saw this a month or 2 ago at a horror festival in LA. if you're going into this knowing it will be just another horror movie where horny teens end up somewhere and get hacked up, that's what it is. What makes the film interesting is the cinematography and creatism of the killings, and the mansion as a whole. it was shot very coolly (I know this isn't a word), some good temperatures to convey moods and the diff rooms / fears etc.. the ending though was unfortunately predictable, much like the characters. I found myself shouting at the screen, "just go! He's gonna get you!" etc.. i was engaged, but for the wrong reasons. the film had the same cheesy girl in distress, big hunky guy leads the pack, funny guy and black dude. very well done for the budget. Some of the acting needed to be tightened, A LOT. Michael Pagan was the best, I'd like to see him again. Eliot Benjamin was relatively funny, and he looks to be pretty new so good luck to his career. The movie didn't attempt to change or go beyond the horror genre that we've been looking at for the past "forever," but again, if you go in knowing this, you'll end up liking it. it's very fun, and a good time. I'd definitely watch it again. on a scale of 1 - 10 in horror land, i give it a 6.5 while in overall movie land, i give it a 4.

Jp

A relatively tame film about teenagers who sneak into a common fear-themed haunted house attraction before it's due to open, where their fears actually can come to life and kill them because of an evil statuette. Possibly the lack of violent or sexual content was due to the movie being shot in the very Mormon state of Utah?

The things they're afraid of are not very focused, in that they don't just attack or kill the person who has the fear, but go after everybody. Some people get injured or killed by things that as far as we know, nobody was afraid of. It's a little weird that way. In the advertising for the film I'd read, there was mention of "sinister clowns, killer scarecrows." There's really only one of each and the clown barely gets any screen time at all.

The characters aren't particularly interesting. The women are pretty, while the guys are somewhat goofy-looking. Corri English's Samantha is a little more developed by virtue of some backstory accompanied by flashbacks which are fairly well-done.

Cydney Neil, former owner and operator of the Rocky Point Haunted House in Salt Lake City briefly appears as herself. A shame more use wasn't made of her.

The director is listed as the producer for an upcoming film titled Hell House, which oddly appears to have the same plot.

Six friends sneak into a haunted house the night before it opens for Halloween, only to find that their evening of fun has turned into their worst nightmare.

Corri English (playing Samantha) may now be known to horror fans who watch "Holliston" (if you do not watch it, you should), but she was largely unknown when appearing here in a starring role. On the flip side, Jared Padalecki (as "JP") was probably well-known at this point and appears anonymously (uncredited). How they got Padalecki is unclear.

The film has an interesting style and coloration (sort of a purposely blurry, washed-out look). And a haunted houses where the fears come to life is always a steady source of horror goodness. But I just did not see much to make this one stand out, and it has been understandably forgotten.

Being a fan of the horror movie genre after watching this movie I have to say it is one of the better low budget horror films. The acting is far from Oscar winning performance's but the actors do hold true to their characters. Has a pretty solid story and a well written script.The one thing I really enjoyed about this film is the way it tackles each characters individual fear such as clowns, suffocation, Ghosts etc. It also offers a few creepy twists and turns along the way. To sum it all up don't watch this movie with high expectations or you WILL be disappointed I recommend this movie to any hardcore horror fan especially fans of the low budget type slasher films just don't expect an Alfred Hitchcock or Wes Craven type flick.

The fun house is well designed and has an eerie atmosphere, but the pointless clichéd themes between teenagers, characters who talk about staying together but don't stick to their decisions, and ineffective acting make the movie mediocre. The scarecrow and the clown stand out as the most effective horror elements. They tried to make a thriller with high excitement and high tempo. This is felt from time to time. Not bad, but I would like to say it could have been better. Despite its shortcomings, I liked the locations, the camera shooting technique and the use of color. It's not boring if you don't expect too much.