Dark House (2014)

Nick Di Santo (Kleintank) has the ability to touch someone and see how they are going to die. Having struggled with this gift his whole life he visits his institutionalized mother (Lesley-Anne Down) on his 23rd birthday, who informs him that the father he never knew may still be alive. Nick has seen an old mansion in his dreams his entire life, and with his friend Ryan (Perez) and girlfriend Eve (Mckenna) they set out to find the house which he now holds the deed to. It was washed away in a flood years ago but still remains sitting in the middle of a desolate field. Once there he meets a scary man named Seth (Bell) who warns him to leave. Spirits appear in the woods and chase our crew with axes and weird behavior only for the group to eventually end up back at the house. Everything isn't what it seems and through a series of twists, Nick himself is something entirely different than what we think he is. Once Charles Agron's story begins to reveal itself to the audience this movie slips seriously from an interesting, and at times scary horror film into a series of confounding explanations that will probably leave most people shaking their heads. Director Victor Salva of "Clownhouse" and both "Jeepers Creepers" movies knows how to deliver solid scares and he has added a few to this movie. These moments happen early on, but the second half of the story admittedly goes for an epic storyline and Salva quite frankly just doesn't deliver it. Once this happens in the story, the movie simply stops being fun and the wonderment that the filmmakers obviously thought we were going to be experiencing falls flat. There are a few cute ties ins to the "Jeepers Creepers" franchise including the 23 year bit being carried over to Nick's 23rd birthday here. The movie is certainly watchable and manages some nice moments in its first half, but the story just crumbles and doesn't work once it really kicks in.

I think "Dark House" aka "Haunted" is a questionable case. Both movie titles certainly won't get a price for originality. They could have called the movie "Dark Forest" since almost the entire movie is situated in a forest. Victor Salva, the director of the acclaimed "Jeepers Creepers" saga, lost all orientation in the creation of this film, because it's become a hodgepodge of different horror genres. A lot of clichés of the horror genre are also thrown together here. Ultimately it's a variant of "Rosemary's baby" mixed with "End of Days" and on top of that some elements of the slasher genre and a bit of supernatural phenomena. A cocktail of horror genres. Not always successful, but overall it was still enjoyable to watch and dosed correctly.Nick Santo (Luke Klein Tank) just turned 23 years old and visits his mother in an institution who's been there since he was young. Nick has a special gift. He can look in the future and see how someone is killed, just by touching that person. He never knew his father but hopes to find the truth after his visit and finally get some answers to the question of whether his father is possibly responsible for this gift. Eventually, the visit didn't progress as he expected. His mother loses her life in a mysterious fire and Nick inherits a house. Not just a house, but the house he has been drawing since his childhood. Together with his good friend Ryan (Anthony Rey Perez) and his pregnant girlfriend Eve (Alex McKenna), he goes on a search for the house, hoping for some answers.You actually expect anyone with a little common sense to recommend the pregnant girlfriend to stay at home. But no, she merrily goes with them on an adventure. The search leads them to a secluded area where they are told that the house was washed away during a massive flood. Mind you , a full house , including the basement. Who would have thought ? Along the way they almost hit some land surveyors who obviously offer their help to locate the floating house. "Dark House" isn't really exciting or terrifying at any time. Even if they throw in Tobin Bell, the crazy Jigsaw from the "Saw" movies , as the creepy caretaker . That ridiculous wig he's wearing doesn't contribute to creating some suspense . Finally we have a cursed house, in a dark and menacing forest and a bunch of chimpanzees with dangerous looking axes. The group is urged to leave and never return. But despite all the efforts they always end up back at the cursed house .Ultimately, it all becomes clear a bit and the whole setup unfolds itself and it degenerates into a fight between good and evil. Despite the total lack of scares and a thrilling intense atmosphere, the movie keeps you in its grip and you can feel the oppressive and threatening atmosphere. We have again an obvious situation with a group of young people in a dark wood and an old ominous building that contains the key to unravel the mystery. But the chases, the swirling hard hitting axes and the different twists make this still an enjoyable film.The acting was nothing to write home about, but afterwards proved not to be terribly annoying. Luke Kleintank was perfect for the role of Nick. A future young father who is looking for his roots. The moments that he had flashbacks about the eventual death of some people, I found fairly successful. McKenna and Perez did what you could expect. And Bell did what he does best : playing an old eerie mysterious person. The portions gore were portrayed in a quite entertaining way. However, it wasn't very original. Another "split by an ax" head. The only thing that really annoyed me and made me shake my head out of disbelief was the fact that there's always someone who's so ultra-horny, he can't even resist to start humping around with a female member of the group , even while they are surrounded by bloodthirsty cavemen with axes . Even a box of Viagra wouldn't help me then.So you can't really call this movie ingenious. Everything has been used before somewhere in another movie. They have stuffed it all into one movie. A shortage of ideas was not really a problem. The oversupply was a problem. But the real horror fans will probably appreciate this. I would even say that this is a horror that is suitable for those who are not really a fan of the genre. Because it's not really a horror anyway. As I read somewhere: "Talking heating vents are not scary - nor is anything else in the Dark House".More reviews at http://opinion-as-a-moviefreak.blogspot.be/

This has to be the worst take of the battle between good and evil since... since well you know, this movie is crap! Not worth the time or the money, nothing makes sense apart from the fact the you get to see the little kid from Malcolm in the middle all grown up and one of the antagonists. The story is ludicrous, a house that withstood a flood and is possessed by a demon or something in the cellar, whom is calling onto his son yada yada hillbilly angels with axes versus demons. Not a lot of effort in the story or logic. It feels like a mixture of a lot of old horror flicks, "don't go into the cellar!". Another angels versus demons, fate hanging in the balance, in the hands of the chosen one, Baaah! Nothing to see here!

I would give this zero stars if I could. Too bad that is not an option.Plot (if you want to call it that): A young man (who clearly didn't graduate from the Stella Adler school of acting) goes to visit his mother at a mental hospital. She tells him that she knows who his father is, but won't tell him who it is. Later the young man inherits a house in the middle of nowhere. He goes looking for his father and takes his best friend and now very pregnant fiancé'/girlfriend/womanherandomlymetinabareightmonthsago to find said house. Bad things happen.Throw in a subplot about being able to see other people's future deaths when you touch them, Tobin Bell from the Saw franchise looking all menacing, a house that somehow has managed to be relocate on its own, weird characters who run around with axes like the nurses from Silent Hill, along with other goofy characters that may or may not be the "bad guys," and you have Dark House.AVOID THIS FILM. Go see other, better, recent straight to video haunted house movies, such as "Haunter" or "Haunt." But do not assume like I did that just because Victor Salva struck gold from directing Jeepers Creepers that he is any good at making movies anymore. He isn't. His career and this pathetic excuse for a movie both belong in the garbage bin.