The Horror Show
Haunter
Directed by Vincenzo Natali
This first thing that must be said about this movie is that it fits into a quality category of what I like to call a “Holly-pendent” movie. “Holly-pendent” is a silly term I came up with that stands for something that is independently made but tries to go for a more Hollywood production feel; this means that the project does not have the low-budget and the (usual) creative charm a good independent movie holds, and yet it also does not reach the big budget, cookie-cutter vibe that a Hollywood movie encompasses. It is simply just floating in the middle ground, awkwardly. It is that kid who is not nerdy and not popular at the same time, but is just there, being horribly forgotten and overlooked by his more interesting peers…that unsure-of-himself, shy bastard! (High school was weird).
Nevertheless, this movie just did not do it for me mainly due to this aspect, which I find annoying in any movie, among other reasons. The reason for this being, if up-top wasn’t convincing enough for you, that the actual bare-bone skeleton plot of the film is surprisingly and exceptionally creative and could’ve been a great setup for an art-house horror film. The movie, directed by Splice’s own Vincenzo Natali, is about the heroine named Lisa, played by Little Miss Sunshine’s Abigail Breslin, who is trapped in the same 1985 day within the confines of her house along with her family. However, only Lisa is aware of this phenomenon while her family is oblivious to it, forgetting everything when the day restarts, ignoring her insane remarks about the truth. You know, there is a classic and very comedic movie that had a strikingly similar plotline to this, but the title escapes me. I wonder what Bill Murray is up to these days (yes I think about Bill Murray often, randomly, with no trigger thought, I know, I’m a freak).
All silliness aside, the skeleton of the plotline is pretty intriguing, and gets more intriguing when - minor spoiler: Lisa finds out her and her family are ghosts, and the weird things she experiences are coming from older ghosts and from a modern, living family, whom she thought were the spirits trying to contact her. Just that alone could’ve been a whole suspenseful and effective movie if done right. Though, they went on to convolute that main plotline, and in turn, made it feel weirdly cliché throughout the second and third act. A complex plot is great when done effectively, don’t get me wrong, and I am not saying that this plot gets complicated necessarily, though the addition of a villain and the way the plot grew just felt unneeded to make it an effective experience. Sometimes, simple is better, and I think if the movie stuck with the skeleton-plot, it could’ve been more interesting.
Like I said, the movie, with a somewhat creative first-half storyline, felt like a miss-stepped Hollywood horror wannabe. The dialogue was clunky and unbelievable, causing me to believe the actors and actresses, who I’m sure were doing their best, were bad actors and actresses; I mean, I highly applaud then-16-year-old Breslin’s performance attempt with what she had to work with, though most of the things she said, along with the things her family said, were things normal people wouldn’t say in the situations they were in. Being based somewhat in the 80’s does not excuse this. Also, the cheap post-lighting and “special” effects in some scenes made the film less scary, less attractive, and made it fall within the lines of a Hollywood horror movie attitude, which was a mark it didn’t fully hit anyway. Cheap jump scares, silly sound design jump scare cues, and awkward color over-saturation in most scenes, all meshed with pretty adequate cinematography made this film feel just, odd. I didn’t really like it overall, but at the same time there were good qualities that brought about a small redemption in it. How do I pinpoint my feelings towards this? What can I call this movie?
I guess I can call it: “eh?” I mean, I wouldn’t say stray from it, but I am not going to promote it as adequate as well. It is a movie that had a lot of artistic promise. A movie that, while watching it, caused me to say things to myself in certain scenes like: “Maybe if there were less cheesy visuals in this part and more atmosphere… Maybe if those music cues weren’t there… Maybe if she didn’t say that one line … a simplified story would be nice… but hey, look at that shot, that shot is nice!”
I think the lack of a budget for an indie horror film can be its greatest asset. So many Hollywood-made horror films rely on cheap jump scares and special blood CGI effect throw-up to cause a startling in the audience, whereas indie horror films can rely more on the old-fashioned atmosphere and suspense conventions for effect due to budget restrictions; the way it should be. Though, this movie fell into that category where it tried to be Hollywood conventional with and independent backbone. Therefore, I deem this movie the middle ground. I deem it, “Holly-pendent/eh?”
Spencer Collins, HMS
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