Author's Note: First of all, I don't think I mentioned that, last week, I had to switch back to my former schedule of doing this on Tuesdays and Thursdays and either Saturday or Sunday, which will likely be the case for the entirety of October. Being as how I'll be doing my Octoberfest celebration the whole month, that shouldn't affect anything until we get into November, by which point I may have it sorted out and I can get back to my preferred schedule of MWF. I'll keep you posted, but it is what it is.
Also, I looked for the original The Houses October Built documentary, but was unable to track it down. I finally discovered that it was available on the Blu-Ray version of the fictional version of the film, but I'm not looking to upgrade at this time, so that one will have to wait. I doubt I could get a hold of it by the end of the month anyway, but regardless, I'm just going to let that one go for now. Maybe next year.
On the plus side, it led me to today's film, another documentary about scare-houses, these of the more homemade variety. So, without further ado, I bring you my review of...
The American Scream is a nifty little documentary that originally aired on the Chiller network- remember that? R.I.P. - and is now available on YouTube, iTunes and Netflix, who bought up all the properties that Chiller once owned when it folded, FYI. It chronicles the efforts of several dedicated Halloween fans to create their own, self-made scare-houses within their actual homes. In other words, to create a D.I.Y. "home haunt," as the film calls them.
The phenomenon, if it can be called that, began in the 70's, but didn't really take off in earnest until the mid-to-late 90's, with the advent of the internet, as well as the Haunted Attraction National Tradeshow and Convention (HAuNTcon), a sort of Comic-Con for those who run professional scare-houses. Once certain people realized that they could create scare-houses in their own homes, the movement took off and such small-scale endeavors began cropping up all over the States.
Scream focuses in on one specific town in Massachusetts: Fairhaven, where one man's obsession spreads to other members of the community, who started their own mini-scare-houses as a direct result of the popularity of ring-leader Victor Bariteau's incredibly elaborate undertaking. While neither of the also-rans come close to Bariteau's level of attention to detail, the mere fact that they loved it so much that they were inspired to do their own is inspiring in and of itself.
Along the way, we see the toll the rush to create as elaborate experience as possible takes not only on those creating it, but their often-overwhelmed families as well- you've never seen such patient wives as you'll see here, lol. All concerned involve their families in the process, almost out of necessity, but it's interesting to see how each of them handles it individually- if anything, I wouldn't have minded seeing a little more of that on display.
For instance, there's Rick and Matt Brodeur, a father-son team that loved Victor's work so much they decided to tackle one of their own. As the two are basically on their own, save the help of one family friend- which Matt goes out of his way to designate as a just a "friend," in spite of their pretty obvious affection for one another- the end results are decidedly low-rent, but charming in their inventiveness, as the Brodeurs literally take junk they find in the basement, people's yards or at junkyards and transform them into ghoulish delights.
The film goes to lengths not to make fun of any of the participants- even Victor avoids the temptation to really slam his would-be competitors: he knows his is the best, more or less, so he doesn't see them as the competition, so much as fellow Halloween fans that felt compelled to throw their own hats in the ring after Victor inspired them with his own display. In fact, another of the group that is the focus of the documentary, Manny Souza, actually helps Victor out with his home haunt while in the process of maintaining his own.
In short, this is kind of the Halloween doc we need right now- a story of people in a community working together, not against one another. In these divided times, it's nice to be reminded we weren't always at each other's throats all the time like we are now. One has to wonder if this film was made now, if things wouldn't deteriorate into something like the movie Deck the Halls, where everyone was desperately trying to outdo one another to the extent that it caused rifts and in-fighting in town.
I can just hear it now- on one side, you'd hear the conservative contingent grousing about how scare-houses were the bastion of evil and a celebration of Satan himself, while liberal snowflake types grumble about the negative effect the home haunts have on their poor children, who have nightmares for weeks after what they saw on their neighbor's lawn, in plain view of the whole neighborhood- oh, the horror! 😱
But back in 2012, at least in Fairhaven, Massachusetts, not only does the neighborhood come out in droves, with lines all the way to the street, but many of them volunteer to pitch in and help build the home haunts, too. And did I mention that no one seems to be getting paid for any of this? As far as I could tell, all of these home haunts seem to be completely self-financed. We do hear brief talk of how Victor sets aside "X" amount of money for his annual haunt- we never hear exactly what any of the folks involved specifically spend on all this- and how he fears his days of working on computers may be limited, but only a little on the toll it takes on the families in question.
Basically, Victor's wife casually notes that, if it weren't this, it would be something else- say, season tickets to watch his favorite team play, for instance. She just accepts it because it's his thing, and it isn't putting them in immediate jeopardy- at least at the moment. It's also noted how, fascinatingly, Victor, who was raised by a religious family that didn't celebrate the holidays, period- even Christmas. As a direct result, when he started his own family, he was determined to make up for lost time- to recreate the childhood he never had for his family- and himself.
You can tell that Victor's wife worries about it, and if his increasing obsession with creating the "ultimate" home haunt will eventually bring them down, but she also clearly loves him and supports him, even as he often behaves like an ass to everyone in his quest to make everything perfect, and treats her more like an employee than a wife- at least during the month of October. Towards the end of the film, we discover that those fears were warranted, as he is indeed laid off from his job.
Instead of immediately hunting for a new job, he makes the astonishing move to go for it and actually build a full-fledged scare-house for real, as a stand-alone project outside of his house, investing his entire life savings into it. We never get to see his wife's reaction to that particular bit of business, but I'm guessing she probably wasn't thrilled.
It's worth noting that, for the most part, though, it really does seem to bring the family together, with Victor's daughter in particular gleefully embracing the overall holiday and home haunt thing, noting her delight in the prospect of scaring the hell out of her friends and her wonderfully morbid contributions to the whole affair, including mutilated Barbie dolls and misshapen toys and the like. She's a chip off the old block, to be sure- if I ever have kids, I hope I get one like her, lol.
Alas, I did a little digging online, and though initially a success, Victor's completed "Ghoulie Manor" was closed in 2016 and has yet to re-open as of this year, which is a shame. It looked to be a pretty neat thing while it lasted, and you can read more about it here on the official website, and see some footage of it on YouTube here. I genuinely hope that Victor and his family is able to rebound from this, as you can't fault the guy for ambition- hopefully, he'll eventually get a happy ending for his dream.
The American Scream was directed by Michael Paul Stephenson, of Best Worst Movie fame, which, for those unaware, is an endearing documentary about the hilariously bad Troll 2, which Stephenson also appeared in as an actor. Over the years, the notoriously terrible film has attained a reputation as one of the worst horror movies ever made, but also one of the most unintentionally funny, in the tradition of the work of someone like Ed Wood or the likes of Robot Monster and Manos: The Hands of Fate.
Though not quite as good as BWM- it admittedly drags in places, and I could have stood a bit more about the inner workings of each of the families- Stephenson does a solid job overall, and it really is fascinating to see how the town comes together to help Victor and Manny Souza realize their dreams. (Not so much Rick and Matt Brodeur, who are a bit on the hapless side, albeit in an endearing way.) It says a lot about a town that they would do it for free, even as Victor in particular can be a bit demanding.
I also love how creative the three main home haunters are, achieving some fairly remarkable effects on a decidedly limited budget. I mean, it's nothing that's going to put the fear of God- or Satan, for that matter- into the more big-budget scare-houses, to be sure, but considering what a shoestring budget these guys are working on, the end results are pretty impressive. And by no means is this sort of thing limited to just Fairhaven, mind you- there are also glimpses of other home haunts in other states and you can find plenty more on YouTube.
I just love the notion of people being so enamored of Halloween that they go the extra mile and actually go so far as to create an ad-hoc scare-house in their own homes, and I'm happy to see that these things have only become more widespread and elaborate in the wake of this documentary's release back in 2012. While the dreams of some of these people's endeavors may become nightmares for others, I sincerely hope this continues to be a thing in the years to come.
In the meantime, if you don't have access to such things in your own town, by all means, check this doc out and be prepared to be wowed. After that, feel free to fall down the wormhole of the many others that have arrived in the wake of this film on YouTube like I did- it's a fun way to prepare for all my fellow horror movie lovers' fave holiday, for sure. 🎃
Warning!: The following review contains spoilers for the first film and for the beginning of this one- if you don't want to know what happens at the end of the first film, I suggest you stop reading now and go watch it, then come back. There will only be mild spoilers for this film, however. You have been warned, so now on with the show, and my review for....
The Houses October Built proved to be a bit of a sleeper hit on Netflix, Redbox and pay-cable in general, so naturally, a sequel was eventually commissioned. In my review of the first film, I posited that we might follow a group of new characters, perhaps trying to follow in the footsteps of the original group and figure out what happened to them and maybe even bring them to justice for what the Blue Skeleton crew did, with the original group shown in flashbacks.
Instead, the sequel basically erases what we all thought happened, and reveals that it was all, in fact, just an elaborate extreme scare-house endeavor in which the five characters from the first film were kidnapped, terrorized and eventually let go. However, it is implied in the opening scene that this may be because the police somehow got wind of it and intervened, "forcing" the Blue Skeleton crew to let the group go, which doesn't make a lot of sense- at least early on. (We get a little more detail later on- but not nearly enough.)
We later discover that the whole thing has basically been posted online, and that may be how the cops were able to "rescue" the group- or, as I said, it really might have been an elaborate hoax and the Blue Skeleton crew simply abandoned ship and bailed before they got caught, though it would have been easy enough to leave everyone buried alive and be done with it, killing them in the process and essentially covering their tracks that way.
But I gather the filmmakers didn't want to go that route, and perhaps more importantly, those financing the whole affair didn't either, so whatever the case, the ending of the first film is glossed over and everyone is revealed to have survived the ordeal after all, even cameraman Jeff (Jeff Larson), who seemed to have been stabbed to death and have his tongue cut out in the original. All are banged up a bit, and emotionally drained and more than a little freaked out by the experience, especially Brandy (Brandy Schaefer), but still very much alive and well.
We flash forward a year, where it is revealed that all concerned, including Zack (Zack Andrews), Bobby (Bobby Roe) and Mikey (Mikey Roe), have since become Internet Famous, with an company having hired the original gang to tour the States and visit and review various scare-houses and other Halloween-related events and film them for online consumption. However, Brandy, understandably, wants none of it, and opts out of the whole endeavor.
One problem: the company wants all five of the group, and, in some cases, refuse to pay them altogether if they don't reunite everyone concerned. After doing a few haunts with three of the guys, then all four (Jeff arrives late, having had to take a bus to the proceedings, the company having balked at paying his airfare), it becomes clear that they need to get Brandy- now known as "Coffin Girl" on the internet, with a huge fanbase that dwarfs the rest- to come back or the whole deal will fall apart.
Jeff, her ex-boyfriend, manages to persuade her to come back, telling her he needs the money, as he is in financial dire straits, and promising her that she can quit at any time and that there will be no "extreme" scare-houses this time around, just run-of-the-mill stuff that is completely above-board. She begrudgingly agrees, and the company even arranges for her to meet with a psychologist, Margee Kerr (as herself, a self-proclaimed "fear sociologist" 😄) who dubiously suggests that the best way to get over her fears may be to confront them head-on.
At first, the gang is true to their word, as the scare-houses they visit are indeed pretty straightforward. One nifty one combines an escape room with what one of the gang terms a "haunted art installation," while another, more "adult" oriented one features a lot of cursing, nudity and- ahem- "laser titties." The gang also attends a Halloween festival in Anoka, Minnesota, the so-called "Halloween Capital of the World," where townspeople claim trick or treating originated (Wikipedia debunks this, as it has been around since before there WAS an United States); a "zombie pub crawl" (complete with an eating contest with the famed competitive eater Takeru Kobayashi), a typical Haunted Hayride and a super-cool "zombie 5K" race, where runners must elude "attacks" by people dressed as zombies.
Along the way, we see an outsider filming the group completely unbeknownst to them, and before long, familiar costumed faces begin to crop up in several of the haunted houses. In addition, some of the crew get wind of yet another "extreme" scare-house, this one dubbed "Hell Bent." They perhaps wisely opt to keep it from Brandy, but it doesn't really matter once a group of familiar masked people descend upon the gang's RV and gas them into unconsciousness, then drive the RV to another location altogether- the hidden location of "Hell Bent," naturally.
Needless to say, we then get a repeat of approximately the same kind of situation as in the first film- but is it for real this time? Or another elaborate hoax? I guess it all depends on how much you think the filmmakers want to turn this sucker into a full-on franchise. For the record, a third film has yet to be announced, so make of that what you will- no spoilers here. But I will say that if all of this sounds like a complete retread of the original, then you're not completely wrong.
Basically, what we have here is a soft reboot of the franchise, with a bigger budget, infinitely better cinematography, and more of a documentary vibe than a "found footage" one. The gang gets a souped-up RV, a drone camera to film things from afar, and the ability to live-stream the events they attend.
From what I can tell, those who loved the first one were a bit disappointed by this one, as it lacks the more low-key, low-budget, home-made "found footage" vibe of the original, while those who prefer it like that it looks better, there's less of the whole "shaky-cam" thing and you can basically tell what's going on at all times, rather than having to strain at times to figure it out.
Another common criticism is that a good hour-and-twenty minutes passes before anything truly "horror"-oriented happens, but that shouldn't come to a shock to anyone who saw the first one, so I can't see bitching about that aspect about this one if you were okay about it in the first film. Still, the series is already repeating itself and the formula is firmly established now, so point taken on the "it's just a bigger budgeted rehash of the original" complaint.
On my end, I didn't mind the pre-horror stuff. As I mentioned in my previous review, I love scare-houses and Halloween-related events, and I saw a lot of them here I wasn't familiar with, and probably wouldn't have the opportunity to have seen otherwise, unless it was in a straight documentary about such things. Indeed, it helps if you look at the first 3/4s of the film as an actual documentary about scare-houses and Halloween events, rather than as an actual narrative film.
Along the way, we get just enough narrative elements to keep things on track, and while I will say that the characters are slightly less likable this time around- like I said, they kind of browbeat the still obviously traumatized Brandy into coming along, and most of the guys seem to have gotten a bit full of themselves in light of their newfound mild celebrity- it also makes sense within the established narrative. Fame does affect people in adverse ways: some embrace it and crave for more, while others are completely freaked out by it.
I also found the much-improved camerawork to be a welcome development, as I am not a huge fan of the whole "shaky cam" thing myself. Some of the drone shots are awe-inducing and even breathtakingly beautiful, as we see all the landscapes of the various places the gang travel. (The one above in the middle is particularly Shining-esque.)
I especially enjoyed the overview of the "Zombie 5K,' which is pretty impressive in its level of detail, with a faux crashed, zombie-infested MARTA- that's the Atlanta version of a subway, for those uninitiated- and cool abandoned buildings. Also, it's in Georgia, my old stomping grounds, and not too far from where I am in Birmingham, Alabama, so going there isn't out of the question, which is cool.
Kudos to the crew for taking advantage of already-existing locations, which is often half the battle in making a low-budget film. One of the first things they teach you in film school is to use the things you have at your disposal, and it's a smart move to incorporate already-existing locales and to film them the way they did. Most of these places do actually exist, and were not fabricated for the film, with the notable exception of "Hell Bent," of course. (Check out the map below for the actual locations of the scare-houses and the like- click "open image in new tab" to make it bigger.")
All of that said, I do think that more should have been done with the overarching plot. I mean, after retconning the ending of the original, showing everything we thought we knew to be a lie, it's hard not to wonder if we're not in for more of the same at the end of this film, which is to say, another elaborate hoax. It's certainly a fair criticism to say that, for the most part, this is a complete retread of the original, only with a bigger budget and better visuals.
That leaves the ending, which is basically the biggest thing the film has going for it. Yet, rather than shed light on the Blue Skeleton crew, it only serves to muddy the waters further. Are they, in fact, a group of killers? Or are they just a group of con men/women truly looking to scare the bejesus out of people, but not really hurt them? By the end of the film, we're still not sure- after all, they could do the same thing they did this time and simply tell us that everything we see here is just a lie, too. Hell, I'm not even sure the Blue Skeleton crew was really involved in this at all. (You'll see why I was confused once you see for yourself.)
Be all that as it may, I basically enjoyed the film. As a fan of scare-houses and the like, I dug seeing the documentary-style footage of the events, so I wasn't bored by that. The cinematography was markedly improved, which I also appreciated. And the acting was fine, and Brandy Schaefer remains a likable heroine, who might just have a solid career in horror moving forward.
I'll allow that the ending was muddled, and the way it was shot was botched, especially the way they revealed the big twists. It's not that it wasn't a decent idea, so much as they fumbled how they told it. We never stop feeling detached from the proceedings, which is a problem in a horror film, especially one in which we're supposed to be rooting for the characters. This is where the whole "found footage" thing can often go awry, as it does here.
We never stop feeling like we're watching an internet video or a documentary, instead of something more intimate, like in Blair Witch or Paranormal Activity. Say what you will about those films and their sequels, they do a good job of establishing characters, and making us feel like we're a part of their journey. Here, like I said, we always feel detached from the proceedings, which would be fine if it were a straightforward narrative film, but this is supposed to be a "you are part of the action" "found footage" flick, and I rarely felt that way.
If the series does end up continuing, I would suggest exploring the mythos of the Blue Skeleton crew more the next time around. How did they come together? What was the original plan? Are they really psychos, or were they just looking to take scare-houses to the next, extreme level? Now that the formula has been firmly established, the filmmakers should shake things up the next time around, if there is one, by doing something different and challenging our expectations.
I'm not saying they should explain things to death, which is a big problem with a lot of the newer horror films, which dwell too much on mythology rather than scares, i.e. Rob Zombie's Halloween, the remake of Pet Sematary, etc. Just maybe think about a different approach. Say, maybe shooting things primarily from the perspective of the Blue Skeleton crew, so that we get a better idea of how they work and choose who to go after. We could still get some stuff from their chosen victims, just maybe even it out by including more from the villains as well, instead of the brief glimpses we get here.
Also, the filmmakers shouldn't be afraid to take their time with the ending. After all that build-up in the two films, we only get around fifteen minutes of genuine horror-related stuff. Maybe you could show the Blue Skeleton group go after one crew for part of the film, then another for the second half, so that the scares are more consistent throughout. And then, for the grand finale, take your time and do it right, instead of it feeling rushed.
Somewhat ironically, everything happens so fast once things get going that it robs the film of some of its inherent suspense. It's as if the filmmakers were trying to replicate the go-for-broke, fast-chills-and-thrills of a scare-house itself, but forgot that they were a movie. We get plenty of that sort of thing in the footage of the actual scare-houses. They move quickly, just like they do IRL. But the ending should be more evenly paced, not rushed, so that the tension has time to build. Slow and steady wins the race, as they say.
I enjoyed the sequel overall, and I think the series has promise moving forward, if they choose to pursue it further. Maybe just take your time with plotting and planning any further installments the next time around, so that you can really nail it next time- the same way that the masterminds behind actual scare-houses do. The Blue Skeleton crew wouldn't have it any other way, right?
So, check it out, especially if you're a fan of the original, but remember that it's basically just more of the same, only with a bigger budget, and keep your expectations in check. It's not a total shitshow, but neither is it anything ground-breaking... but it could be if they plot out the next one carefully and really pay attention to detail. Like a great scare-house, this could really be something special, if they plan wisely. Until such a time, we have The Houses October Built 2. 🎃👻💀
Hey all!
Well, my favorite month is upon us, and, as a near-lifetime long horror fan, 'tis the season for scary movies! Having already tackled the Halloween franchise in its entirety last year (see here for links), this year I thought I'd get into some of the slightly lesser-known horror movies set on or around every fear flick fan's fave holiday, Halloween. 🎃
Surprisingly, there aren't as many as one might think, though by no means a small amount. Still, in the race for the most horror movies set on a certain holiday, Christmas wins that particular battle hands down, with literally hundreds of movies set on or around Christmas time. Go figure- the supposedly happiest holiday of the year has also been deemed the scariest, at least by horror filmmakers.
Be that as it may, there's still plenty to choose from for Halloween, and I'm going to cover as many as I can this month. If I don't get to one of your favorites, hang in there- maybe next year. The idea is to have a good mix of stuff I already know and love, and movies I've never seen before. By all means, if you have any suggestions, leave them in the comments section down below, or in the comment section/replies on my various social media. If I see something that sounds interesting, I might just do it!
First up, I take a look at a flick I've never seen before...
As those of you who read my reviews of Hell Fest and Blood Fest know, I'm a big fan of scare-houses and the like, and never miss an opportunity to go to a new one whenever possible. I already went into some of this in-depth in my review of Hell Fest, so click on that link above if you want to read more about that, but one thing I neglected to mention was that, once upon a time, I got myself banned from the local Jaycees Haunted House when I flat-out decked a guy and kicked another in the nuts one year!
You see, I have a condition some have called "fear-punching," in which, if someone jumps out at me, I tend to punch or kick first and ask questions later. This no doubt comes from having grown up on a steady diet of horror movies ever since I was a kid, and having learned the lesson from rap music to "protect yourself before you wreck yourself," lol. Back then, it was the workers at such places that had more to fear from the patrons. My, how things have changed.
As noted at the beginning of The Houses October Built, the people who put together scare-houses these days rarely bother with such silly things as, I don't know, a proper background check of the people they employ. After all, save maybe the more elaborate affairs like Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios, or Knott's Scary Farm, most of these places work with volunteers that don't get paid- they literally just do it because they get off on scaring people.
But what happens when such people get a little carried away? When they take things just a little too far? Or even worse, when things turn deadly? In The Houses October Built, we find out what happens when people stop being polite and start getting real. Oh, wait- that's actually MTV's The Real World. So, I guess in this case, it's when people stop playing games, and start getting... deadly.
The film follows the exploits of a group of five friends- Brandy (Brandy Schaefer), the lone girl of the group, who we see being sinisterly loaded into a trunk at the beginning of the film; her boyfriend, Zack (Zack Andrews, who also co-produced and co-wrote the film), who is obsessed with finding the scariest of scare-houses; Jeff (Jeff Larson), the lead cameraman on the documentary the gang is shooting on their experiences; and brothers Bobby (Bobby Roe, who co-wrote and directed) and Mikey (Mikey Roe).
As you might have guessed from the fact that everyone is going by their real names here, the film is presented, Blair Witch Project-style, as a collection of footage shot by all of those concerned, as well as members of the so-called "Blue Skeleton" collective, a roving scare-house attraction that is located in a new place every year, and is the gang's ultimate destination- if they can find it.
The problem is, the "Blue Skeleton" crew is ultra-secret, being as how they do things a little differently, and offer up an immersive, full-throttle experience that goes far beyond that found in a typical attraction, and one that is so in-your-face as to skirt illegality- hence the whole off-the-books, roving location thing. Basically, to get a bead on their location, you have to go above and beyond in your search, and seek it out, talking to select people who give you clues, which lead to other clues, which hopefully will lead to an ultimate destination for said scare-house. The gang also look to the internet for help, using online forums about scare-houses to guide them in the right direction. This being a horror movie and all, you would be right in that weird things start happening to them, the closer they get to their "final destination," so to speak- which may indeed be their last, if what the people involved in this thing have in mind is deadlier than most scare-house antics.
For instance, individual characters they encounter in their visits to other scare-houses start cropping up elsewhere. At first, it's easy to explain away, as their original focus is wholly in Texas- after all, isn't it possible that different people simply bought the same costume? But as time goes by, the coincidences start piling up and become harder to explain away, such as the instance in which someone appears to have snuck into their RV while they were asleep and filmed them and then posted it on the aforementioned online forums for all to see. Creepy!
Alas, as with Blair Witch, nothing major really happens until approximately the final fifteen minutes, which, as per usual, is the expected shaky-cam and hard-to-see climax, in which the entire gang is terrorized in earnest by said "Blue Skeleton" crew, quite possibly ending up dead in the end, if what we see last is any indication. Then again, if you weren't aware, there is a sequel, which I will be covering next, so maybe they aren't. In that sense, what happens may actually be a bit of a cliffhanger, which some may see as a cheat.
Hard to say, with my not having seen the sequel yet, but the entire gang is listed in the credits for said movie, so it seems likely that it really was just an extreme scare-house tactic, as promised. Then again, it may be a fake-out, to lead people to believe the gang is still alive, when, in fact, the bulk of the sequel covers a new group of people and the original gang is only seen in flashbacks or the like. I'll see soon enough, but until then, know that this one ends abruptly, with the implication that things don't end well for all concerned, to say the least.
I originally hesitated to watch this one, as it looked like your ordinary, average, run-of-the-mill horror flick. I first saw it listed on Netflix and at the local Redbox, where it appeared to just be just another generic haunted house movie. But word of mouth has persisted on this one, and I eventually discovered it was actually about scare-houses, not haunted houses, and, if you read my reviews of Hell Fest and Blood Fest, then you know I'm a bit of a sucker for such films, which is to say, horror films (or whatever genre, really, save maybe musicals) revolving around scare-houses, carnivals, and, to a slightly lesser extent, circuses.
Once I found that out, I snapped it up in spite of my initial reservations. As for the found footage angle, I'm also a bit of a sucker for those as well. While few of them actually scared me- [Rec] probably came the closest- I still find them a lot of fun, even as they pivot into the unlikely, as in: How the hell would anyone still be filming when the shit hits the fan in earnest? Answer: they wouldn't. But such is the subgenre - you either go with it or you don't.
For the most part, I went with it here. After all, the crew here also use hidden cameras they wear on their person, in addition to the standard camera, so it makes more sense that they would keep filming in that case, as they're filming everything whether consciously or not. Also, even the "Blue Skeleton" crew conveniently- if dubiously- provide cameras to them after they are willingly "abducted" by them late in the movie to travel to the location of the actual scare-house.
So, basically, whether or not you enjoy the movie will largely depend on how you feel about the premise and the whole "found footage" thing in general. If you found Blair Witch and Paranormal Activity to be the definition of a boring horror flick, then you probably won't find much to change your mind about the oft-reviled subgenre here, as it follows the formula to the letter. But if you just can't help yourself to watch every "found footage" flick you come across, then you might dig it.
In addition, if, like me, you are fascinated by the inner workings and goings-on at scare-houses in general, you might enjoy it, even if "found footage" flicks aren't generally your cup of ghoul-ash. I gather from my research that this film was actually inspired by a documentary of the same name by the same people- now that film I'd actually love to see, and I suspect that I might like that more than this film, which is largely fictional, naturally. I haven't tracked it down as of yet, but if I do, I might review it here at some point on down the line.
Until such a time, look out for my review of the sequel later this week, and you should know that, while it's nothing earth-shattering, I did enjoy The Houses October Built for what it was. The cast is mostly likable- more than you can say for a lot of modern horror as it is- and I actually had fun traveling with them from scare-house to scare-house, until they started doing actively stupid shit, at least, i.e. not abandoning their quest the minute that footage of them sleeping was posted online, to say nothing of one of them "losing" their license, which may point the way forward to the sequel, i.e. in Part Two, the "Blue Skeleton" crew bring the scare-house to the gang, instead of the gang bringing themselves to the scare-house.
The zombie paintball thing looked like fun, and I've already had the dubious pleasure of attending a "haunted" strip club, where the dancers dressed up as various ghouls and monsters, which is quite a sight to see, let me tell you. (I'd give a shout-out to the club in question, but I can't remember the name- it was in Nashville, Tennessee, just outside the downtown area, though, if that helps, lol.)
I myself don't have any inclination towards finding the most "extreme" scare-house like these yahoos- why would you actively try and put yourself in danger with an "underground" group of wackos that could well be made up of criminals and actual murderers that managed to get out of jail and may now be using this approach as a way to take people out on the sly? Hard pass.
BTW, there's an incident mentioned in the film as having happened in Alabama. To the best of my knowledge, it's absolutely true, though I don't have any proof to that end. Basically, the real story is a bit more tragic than it's related here. A girl, who was prone to extreme depression, got herself a job at a local scare-house, and at some point, hung herself, thinking no one would notice, given the surrounding circumstances. She was right- patrons didn't notice, thinking it was part of the show- but perhaps needless to say, the workers did later on, and the attraction ended up closing for the rest of the season, for obvious reasons.
Maybe it's bullshit- but I don't think so. For one thing, it's not like anyone was saying that someone working there hauled off and killed a bunch of people, as implied in this film. This was strictly a self-inflicted situation, and all too believable as such. Also, I distinctly remember that the group that put on the scare-house switched locations the very next year, thus cementing the story as true- why would they do so, otherwise?
Of course, as an adult, I know of all sorts of reasons why that could be, but it sure seemed plausible then. So, maybe it's true, maybe it isn't- but I sure remember it happening and that it was the talk of the town at the time- maybe there's a news article to verify? I'll see what I can dig up.
In the meantime, speaking of digging up, I'll set my sights on The Houses October Built 2 next, so keep an eye out for that soon, and we'll see if the gang was able to extricate themselves from their un-enviable positions here in the sequel! 😱
Author's Note: For the month of October, having already covered the Halloween series in its entirety- click here for a list of all the links (scroll down below the first pic of Tom Atkins) - this time around, I'll be covering a host of horror movies set in and around the month of October, with a few of them actually taking place on Halloween itself.
Interestingly, there are fewer movies than you'd think that meet this requirement: Christmas-themed horror flicks actually handily win that particular battle. But there are more than enough to get a month of reviews out of it, so that's what I'm going with this year. Hope you enjoy it.
On a side note, I entered a Stephen King-themed contest, involving writing a host of reviews of films based on his books and stories. If I win, I'll be tackling that towards the end of the month, but I won't know until around October 19th, so I'm just going to do this until I know for sure whether I've won, because I might not end up doing that, anyway.
But if I do, obviously, you can look for the latter half of the month to transform into being King-themed instead of continuing to be October/Halloween-themed. I'll keep you posted. Until then, here's one last review before I start the festivities in earnest!
To say the least, the films of writer/director Jim Jarmusch are an acquired taste. Kind of like a hipster version of David Lynch, they are often heavily stylized, slow-moving, and typically not exactly brimming with action. His most beloved films include Stranger Than Paradise, Down by Law, Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (frequently cited as the one film that people like who don't typically like Jarmusch's work), Broken Flowers and Only Lovers Left Alive.
It was during the shooting of the vampire-themed Lovers, an atypical genre exercise for Jarmusch, that star Tilda Swinton suggested that he might want to consider tackling the zombie sub-genre next. After helming the critically-acclaimed Paterson, which was nominated for over 20 awards, including a nod at the Cannes Film Festival for the Palme d'Or, Jarmusch did just that, assembling arguably his most high-profile cast to date, which is saying something, if you're familiar with his prior casts. Or, as the poster puts it: "The Greatest Zombie Cast Ever Disassembled!"
In addition to Swinton, Jarmusch also-rans include: Bill Murray (Broken Flowers- naturally, his previous foray into the subgenre, Zombieland, is referenced), Adam Driver (who was the lead in Paterson- there are also multiple nods to Star Wars, for obvious reasons), RZA (who was in Coffee & Cigarettes with Murray- his day job IRL is amusingly referenced by his day job in this movie, where he plays a "WU-PS" driver- see what they did there?), Steve Buscemi (Mystery Train), singer Tom Waits (Down by Law), Rosie Perez (Night on Earth- she plays a reporter here by the name of "Posie Juarez," lol), Chloë Sevigny (Broken Flowers) and Eszter Balint (Stranger Than Paradise).
New recruits include: Danny Glover (the Lethal Weapon series), Carol Kane (Scrooged, The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt), Caleb Landry Jones (Twin Peaks: The Return, Friday Night Lights), former Disney stars Selena Gomez and Austin Butler (both from The Wizards of Waverly Place- Butler also had a recurring role on Hannah Montana and plays "Tex" Watson in Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood), Luka Sabbat (Grown-ish), Taliyah Whitaker (See You Yesterday, Roxanne Roxanne), Jahi Di'Allo Winston (Everything Sucks, Proud Mary), appealing newcomer Maya Delmont and legendary rocker Iggy Pop, who, of course, plays a zombie.
The plot is pretty standard zombie movie fare: a small town finds themselves experiencing progressively weird occurrences, including tech malfunction, oddly extended daylight hours, the mass disappearance of animals and the attack of two employees of a local diner by a wild animal- or is it an attack by "several wild animals"? Deputy Ronnie Peterson (Driver) has an idea, possibly not uninformed, that it might be zombies, but doesn't seem very phased by it, save his recurring insistence that "this is all gonna end badly."
Here, the cause is "polar fracking," which has caused the planet to tilt slightly off its axis or orbit or something like that, which is strenuously denied by Republican politicians, because of course it is. Obviously, this is a not-too-subtle reference to climate change deniers, as well as a plea by Jarmusch that we need to do more about environmental concerns, which is absolutely right. Tellingly, it's the youngest members of the cast- not including the kid zombies, of course- that recognize the threat for what it is, and also are the most proactive about getting the hell out of dodge.
The rest opt to stay and fight, led by Sheriff Cliff Robertson (Murray), Peterson and fellow officer Minerva Morrison (Sevigny), with an able assist from "weird" newcomer and local mortician Zelda Winston (Swinton), who wields a mean Katana, just like a certain dreadlocked zombie-fighting warrior we all know and love. Local shopkeeper Bobby Wiggins (Jones, perfectly cast) wises everybody to the rules, being an avid Romero fan: "kill the head." Things proceed accordingly, with lots of celebrity carnage along the way until few are left standing, as per usual with these movies.
As you might have guessed, if you're familiar with Jarmusch's previous work, all of this happens in his patented laconic, laid-back, completely deadpan style, which may rub some people the wrong way, to say the least- as in anyone expecting people to flip out and lost their shit. Aside from Sevigny- and even that is kind of out of nowhere and almost plays as a tweak on the typical "girl freaks out and puts herself in danger" trope- pretty much everyone keeps their cool all the way through the movie, even when they're about to be eaten.
This apathetic attitude may well result in apathetic viewers, who find themselves completely unaffected by the entire affair, which has long since been a criticism of Jarmusch's oeuvre, where the characters are often too cool to express any overt emotions on the whole. That's just his particular schtick, and if it doesn't work for you in the early stages of the movie, the film as a whole probably won't either, as he maintains the vibe throughout.
I suppose one could make a case for this being a satire of the zombie subgenre, and to a certain extent it is- there's way too many in-joke references for it not to be somewhat tongue-in-cheek (i.e. Gomez' character drives the same car as Barbara & Johnny in the opening of Night of the Living Dead, Pittsburgh is referenced, as is Romero, and Dawn of the Dead, via the zombies' return to things they loved as humans, albeit updated to include more modern things like "wi-fi," "Oxy" and cell phones).
But overall, it comes off like Jarmusch's heart isn't quite in it, which makes the film seem kind of half-assed, down to the meta asides, such as when after the title track, by country musician Sturgill Simpson (who also has a cameo as "Guitar Zombie," which is just what it sounds like), plays for the second time and Murray's character says it sounds familiar, and then Driver's character replies: "You have. It's the title track." "The title track to what?" "The movie." See what they did there?
Even the ending is done with a shrug, in spite of what could have been an interesting twist, as if the only goal was to fulfill Ronnie's repeated proclamation that this, in fact, was not going to end well. Mission accomplished, I guess, but maybe not in the way intended. I mean, don't get me wrong, it's perfectly watchable film, especially with that cast, but it's probably not going to win Jarmusch any new fans, in spite of it having the widest release and biggest gross of any of his prior films.
It's kind of hard to explain to new fans, but Jarmusch's films just have a certain vibe to them that you either are on board with right away or you aren't. Otherwise, much like the disgruntled hotel owner, you'll probably dismiss it as "hipster bullshit." Which it kind of is, really. But it's "hipster bullshit" that knows it's "hipster bullshit," so I suppose that's something. Whether or not that something is just plain shit, I'll leave up to the respective viewers, but for the record, opinions seem to be divided almost right down the middle, according to the sources I just checked, which seems about right.
I suppose I liked it for what it was, but I'd hardly call it one of Jarmusch's best efforts, that's for sure. My favorites are the ones I mentioned at the top of the article, though I enjoyed Mystery Train and Night on Earth quite a bit as well, thanks in no small part to their equally quirky casts and great soundtracks. In addition to Simpson's fun theme song, Jarmusch's band SQÃœRL does the score honors here, as they did with his previous horror effort Only Lovers Left Alive, and it's worth a listen.
I'd say check it out if you love a quirky zombie flick, or if you're a big fan of any of the main cast, or of Jarmusch in general, but keep your expectations low and know that the tone set early on is the tone of the movie, period, and don't expect that to change once the zombies run rampant. If you can make your peace with that then you'll probably enjoy it for what it is- a moderately enjoyable zombie movie with a wry sense of humor, but nothing groundbreaking (so to speak) or game-changing.
But hey, if you ever wanted to see Iggy Pop as a zombie (not much of a difference, lol) or Selena Gomez have her head cut off, you've come to the right place! 😲
