Currently, fear houses and escape rooms are very popular all over the world. No wonder that the creators use this fact more and more often and smuggle themes into horror movies. However, this does not go hand in hand with the quality of production. How is the latest horror film by the director duo Scott Beck and Bryan Woods doing?
Upiornego Halloween!
Halloween. One of the most commercialized American holidays. The story focuses on a group of friends who decide to have fun and spend this time in a spook house in a remote area. When they reach their destination, they are greeted by a ghastly looking clown. It turns out that they have to leave their phones in front of the building and sign a voluntary participation form. Despite the procedures unusual for entertainment attractions, the heroes decide to go inside. Their enthusiasm quickly fades when their friend is murdered by one of the actors. Then they realize that seemingly innocent fun is a real nightmare. To save their lives, they will have to face psychopathic clowns.
Source: filmschoolrejects.com
House of monsters
Scott Beck and Bryan Woods have written a brilliant script for John Krasinski’s Quiet Place , a discovery two years ago among post-apocalyptic films for which they won the Saturn Award. The House of Fears is not their directorial debut. In 2015, they shot Nightlighthowever, the production went unnoticed. Their latest horror movie is an attempt to show a completely different face. The creators focus on building an atmosphere typical of slasher conventions, not trying too much to use sophisticated methods of scaring viewers and arousing the feeling of disgust. Claustrophobic spaces, masked murderers and a high scale of cruelty are tricks that are supposed to impress viewers. And this effect is only partially successful. The film is suspenseful, but nothing can surprise us. The created reality, the characteristics of the characters, and the psychological delineation of the characters leave a lot of dissatisfaction. However, the directing duo approaches the very temperament of antagonists in a different way, treating the house of fear not only as a place to scare teenagers who want unusual experiences, but also a real community of human ugliness. Thus, it is a metaphor of human nature, monsters capable of the cruelest acts, susceptible to the influence of internal and external stimuli, guided by inborn destructive instincts, ugly, wanting to harm others. This approach to the subject fully illustrates the ambiguity of the story.
Source: thelastthingisee.com
Other pluses
The visual aspects are a decisive advantage of the production, apart from the metaphorical approach to the subject. The characterization of antagonists makes a good impression. Similarly, all rooms, traps and special effects faithfully reflect the danger and the sinister atmosphere. Both the siting of the building. and the appearance of the rooms build the aura of the claustrophobia surrounding the protagonists. Taking into account all the elements of the horror movie, the end result of a joint work by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods is mediocre at best. It does not mean, however, that it is a low-flying production. Certainly, for connoisseurs of gore aesthetics , it will be quite a successful screening, embellished with strong scenes. However, for those who seek greater emotions, the film will turn out to be another story without panache.