The Horror Show
Haunt
Directed by Mac Carter
Haunt is the 2013 released horror film and feature directorial debut of Mac Carter. Often times I am left supremely unimpressed with the “ghost in the house that we just moved into” premise, but Haunt left me shockingly satisfied when the credits rolled.
The movie begins with a little sneak peek of the history of this mysterious house that the film takes place in. A woman’s voice is heard as she explains the “Morello Curse” that residents in the surrounding area have dubbed her family’s horrific experiences. One by one the members of the Morello family died tragic deaths and left the mother of the family alone and heartbroken. She puts the home up for sale and that’s where our main characters come in. 18 year old Evan (Harrison Gilbertson) and his family move into the old Morello home. The house has as much of a beauty in antiquity as it does the “creepy old haunted house” feel and Evan’s family falls in love with it. One night Evan goes on a walk and we meet the troubled teen Sam (Liana Liberato) crying in the woods. Sam comes from a very broken home and initially is pretty standoffish with Evan, but eventually they become close friends, and lovers.
Sam has a morbid curiosity to her and seems to be strangely drawn to the Morello home. She somehow knows where everything in the house is and leads Evan into a crawlspace in his attic bedroom where we discover there is a device hidden that can be used to contact the dead. As you would predict, the two teens decide to contact the dead and start asking questions that are better left unanswered. Now, normally this type of thing is pretty cheesy and overdone in movies, but to be perfectly honest, it was one of those scenes where I would have pressed pause and waited until someone else was in the house with me to continue watching if I were alone. Luckily for me I was watching with three other people.
The movie continues in the traditional horror fashion. Strange things begin happening to Evan’s family, spirits are seen lurking in the shadows, and Evan’s younger sister starts talking to her “imaginary friend”. All things that are typical of haunted house movies. But what Haunt does that other horror movies as of late have not done, is creep me the hell out and make me want to sleep with the lights on. The “jump in your seat” moments were not few and far between. The ghosts in this movie have an odd way of possessing the house’s inhabitants and the character of Sam seems to get creepier and creepier as the movie progresses. When you make it to the end of Haunt, the story unfolds and a huge twist is revealed that I was not expecting in any way. Carter has done an excellent job with directing Haunt and writer Andrew Barrer’s talents have been given the chance to shine. I don’t know if the naivety of our main character Evan was intended, but it was executed well by Harrison Gilbertson, and at the same time of being done well, it made me want to punch Gilbertson’s character in the face several times for being a stupid teenage boy who’s infatuation with the girl next door leads him to danger and pissed off spirits.
This was one of those horror movies that if I had paid the $9 to watch in the theater, I would not have been disappointed and found that I wasted my money. While Haunt didn’t bring anything original to the table, it did put a refreshing face on the haunted house genre. It doesn’t claim to be based on true events, it doesn’t contain found footage, and it makes you jump and gives you an unexpected and satisfying ending. Haunt is a fun ghost house film to watch with friends and laugh at each other every time one of you jumps on the couch. Then it’s even more fun to determine who will be the first to walk up the dark staircase to the bedroom first when it’s time to go to bed later on. Haunt gets a strong 8 out of 10 from me.
Stevie Kopas, Associate Editor HMS
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