Dark
House
(2014/aka Haunted/Cinedigm
Blu-ray)
Picture:
B Sound: B Extras: C- Film: C
Directed
by Victor Salva (Jeepers
Creepers)
comes Dark
House
(2014), a supernatural horror film starring Luke Kleinank (Saw).
The story focuses around Nick Di Santo (who is tormented by his
ability to touch someone and see exactly how they will die.
On
his birthday, Nick visits his condemned Mother (Golden Globe Nominee
Lesley-Anne Down) in a mental institution who tells him that his long
lost Father is not only alive but could know the origin of his
otherworldly gift.
When
Nick gets into a boring screaming match with his mother, he touches
her and sees the grisly way she dies (burning alive), and low and
behold it becomes a reality. In her will, Nick discovers that his
Mom left him an abandoned house that triggers a dark memory. He has
seen this house his whole life in dreams and drawings but until now
he never knew it existed. Remind you of the motif of Freddy
Krueger's house in A
Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors?
From
here, the film shifts gears when Nick and his group of pals
(including his pregnant girlfriend Eve) decide to take a road trip in
an attempt to find his Father and check out his new creepy inherited
house. The film attempts at humor with a bunch of run of the mill
character archetypes and actors that fail to impress. It mimics the
original Texas
Chainsaw Massacre
setup yet regains steam with the introduction of a dark figure (Tobin
Bell) who has a group of unusual hooded soldiers that chase our
heroes throughout the woods. The concept of a dark ominous character
combating five to ten creepy soldiers with pix axes in the woods is
an interesting concept. However, the costumes look like they are
purchased at a Halloween Store and not gritty and dark enough to be
convincing.
Stunning
realizations strike Nick throughout the final act as his friends get
picked off one by one and his girlfriend Eve gives birth to a demon
bringing hell on earth. While the premise sounds enticing and the
film introduces some original moments, overall I feel it fails in
achieving its goal of becoming a campy B-Movie by lack of effective
humor and creative death scenes. I feel it could have benefited by a
cult favorite actor (like a Kane Hodder or a Sid Haig) or maybe a
more stylistic approach to its overall look and production design.
It just doesn't quite hit the mark for this reviewer.
The
Picture on this disc looks great however. The 2.35 X 1, 1080p
digital high definition image brings out the crisp leaves in the
woods and the skin tones on the characters. The DTS-HD 5.1 lossless
sound mix benefits the musical score in the film, which at time is
full of loud orchestral stingers that made me jump a few times in the
film. The dialogue is loud and clear and above standard for a film
in this budget range.
Extras
lack on the disc with mere Behind the Scenes footage.
All
in all, Dark
House
isn't the worst horror film I've seen but not engaging enough to be
remembered far after its release date. It introduces some engaging
ideas but fails with lackluster performances and a feeling of been
there, done that.
-
James Lockhart
