For the first time in 20 years, a local high school is putting on a theatre production of a play called ‘The Gallows’. The 1993 production was beset by tragedy when a prop gallows legitimately executed a student (Yeah, apparently they used a real gallows. What?) Now student Ryan Shoos, armed with a handheld camera is documenting the new production, starring sensitive jock Reese (Reese Mishler) and the girl he has the hots for, theatre girl Pfeifer Brown. Ryan convinces Reese that the play is going to flop and it would be a good idea if they broke in at night (well, technically the side entrance has a broken lock, but that’s still ‘break and enter’ if you ask me) and sabotage the set. Reluctantly Reese agrees, and they are also joined by Ryan’s girlfriend Cassidy (Cassidy Gifford). However, Pfeifer soon turns up too, wondering just what they hell they’re doing. Before they have much time to discuss the matter, it seems they are somehow trapped inside the school, unable to get out. In almost total darkness they are stalked by an unseen force.
Apparently we’re still doing the shaky-cam horror movie in 2015. The thing is, on evidence here in this lame horror flick from dual writer/director/visual FX guys Travis Cluff & Chris Lofing, the films are getting worse. A lot worse. I’ve heard of minimalist or bare bones horror films before, but this thing is practically a non-entity. Ooh, a haunted school play! How creepy. Or something. Or nothing. Yeah, definitely nothing. After 30 minutes or so of this 75-80 minute movie, the characters have only just gotten locked in at the school, with about 40 minutes or so left to devote to, y’know…the actual movie. “BWP” got away with it because it was fairly new at the time, I always felt like something scary could happen at any moment. Here, I knew it was going to be a long slog. That first 30 minutes is devoted to a stupid school play and the general douchiness of the main character played by Ryan Shoos. Shoos, by the way is the oldest-looking teenager since Gabrielle Carteris on “Beverly Hills 90210”. In fact, Shoos looks even older than Carteris did when she started on that show at age 29.
Is there anyone out there who genuinely believes that ‘found footage’ filmmaking (or narrative) style is ever better than standard filmmaking? “The Blair Witch Project”, “Paranormal Activity”, “Chronicle”, and “Project Almanac” are all good movies in my view, but do most films using such techniques have to be films of that visual/narrative style? I don’t think so, and this is definitely one that didn’t have to be this way. I mean, I was hard on the characters in “Project Almanac” blatantly breaking and entering on camera, and it’s particularly idiotic as done here. The camerawork itself is stable enough to bear without ruining the gimmick, but I just hate the gimmick, I’m sick of it. Darkness is well-employed once the fit finally hits the shan, but with thoroughly unlikeable and uninteresting characters, who cares? I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Character. Is. Key. When will horror filmmakers learn? The story sucks, the characters are tedious, and so it’s all for nought. I guess the ending is halfway clever (though it may not bear to close scrutiny), but it’s also nothing terribly new, either if you’ve seen maybe even two movies in your lifetime.
OVERALL SUMMARY
With a lousy screenplay, awful characters and a completely played out style, I had a serious lack of give a crap about this film. It evaporates before your very eyes and being stably shot is ultimately not worth a damn. Call me this site’s resident grouch, but this is pitiful stuff.
