HELL HOUSE (2015)

Too many found footage-style movies out there but if you can find one that separates itself from the pack you've got a winner. HELL HOUSE is an expert in what most found footage, let alone films in this genre needs to learn...the art of subtlety and realism. We have a group of friends who decide to renovate an old abandoned hotel and use it for a scare attraction for the Halloween season. We open with the aftermath of the fateful night with the attration-goers running screaming out of the haunt and dead bodies piling up and we hear what happened from the perspective of the only survivor of the group. While this seems like a common storyline for these types of flicks, what they get right is the line between realistic and too far-fetched. Mannequin clowns that seem to move on their own, shadowy figures creeping in rooms, even characters acknowledging the absurdity of these situations elevate the entire mood to something terrifying and realistic enough that what all the cameras are capaturing could actually happen. No overblown or cheap CGI or ghosts appearing out of the floors..everything is just creepy and realistic enough to keep you immersed in what's going on until the insane finale. With haunt season around the corner, start off in this house.

SLASH SCENE: The large clown

SLASH SCORE: 5/5