The Scarehouse is a new horror-thriller film that has recently hit the VOD market. The movie was co-written by husband-wife duo Gavin and Sarah Booth with Sarah also being one of the lead roles in the film (Corey). The Scarehouse was shot on location at the ScarehouseWindsor which is located in Windsor, Ontario - directly across the bridge/tunnel from my hometown of Detroit!
The film kicks off with a bit of found footage of Corey & Elaina (the two leading ladies) that partially reveals the past relationship between themselves and their sorority friends. Right after the brief prologue the movie kicks right into high gear with the Corey & Elaina putting the finishing touches on their haunted attraction which they use to hide the fact that it is housing the girls of the sorority that they are kidnapping from. It is revealed soon after that the two women spent time in the slammer and we can begin to assume that this had something to do with a fallout over their status within the sorority. It isn't till the end of the film though that their true motivations are revealed. The Scarehouse does eventually come through with a big reveal in regards to why the women were in prison and why they are committing these crimes in The Scarehouse and I won't spoil the movie but once you think the film has shown you the big twist you really might want to stick around because there is more in store than just the initial reveal!
The film kicks off with a bit of found footage of Corey & Elaina (the two leading ladies) that partially reveals the past relationship between themselves and their sorority friends. Right after the brief prologue the movie kicks right into high gear with the Corey & Elaina putting the finishing touches on their haunted attraction which they use to hide the fact that it is housing the girls of the sorority that they are kidnapping from. It is revealed soon after that the two women spent time in the slammer and we can begin to assume that this had something to do with a fallout over their status within the sorority. It isn't till the end of the film though that their true motivations are revealed. The Scarehouse does eventually come through with a big reveal in regards to why the women were in prison and why they are committing these crimes in The Scarehouse and I won't spoil the movie but once you think the film has shown you the big twist you really might want to stick around because there is more in store than just the initial reveal!
One of the things that I really like about movies that take place in haunted attractions is that the attraction is often featured as a sort of character itself within the film, but this wasn't the case with The Scarehouse. Of course there are a few minor scenes that take place out in the actual attraction itself and the attraction is obviously used to sell the plot and give the kidnappers a sort of cover for their actions but these scenes were actually quite sparse. Part of the reason for the lack of scenes featuring the Scarehouse itself and some of the halloween decor that would obviously be found within was probably a budgetary issue. The Scarehouse was filmed with a budget of just $200,000 (Canadian) and so the attraction scenes may have had to be cut down to keep some of that tiny budget for things like special effects. There may have also been some agreement between the owners of the actual Scarehouse that prevented Booth and Co. from utilizing it more.
The gore that is seen in the movie was present in just the right amount and actually had quite a few innovative ideas behind the kills that provided the carnage. During the film you'll see body parts removed forcibly (haha), a "killer" pillow fight and lets just say I've never quite seen a corset used this way before. I've seen the label torture porn thrown around a lot regarding any movie with gore nowadays but The Scarehouse is not torture porn and the scenes of gore were presented in the typical slasher movie way.
The gore that is seen in the movie was present in just the right amount and actually had quite a few innovative ideas behind the kills that provided the carnage. During the film you'll see body parts removed forcibly (haha), a "killer" pillow fight and lets just say I've never quite seen a corset used this way before. I've seen the label torture porn thrown around a lot regarding any movie with gore nowadays but The Scarehouse is not torture porn and the scenes of gore were presented in the typical slasher movie way.
My two concerns regarding The Scarehouse revolved around some pacing issues towards the beginning and some character development issues with one character. The first kidnapping/kill went on for what I thought was an extremely long time, but because I had become invested in figuring out why the hell these women were doing this I was able to get past that. My other issue was with Elainas character portrayed by Kimberly-Sue Murray. Murray gave an excellent calm yet psychotic edge to her role but at times the character would waver between being all in for the kills and kidnapping and at other times would appear completely squeamish and almost unwilling to commit certain acts. This was most apparent to me during the first kill scene and during the reveal at the end as it is revealed what put the two in prison in the first place - you might spot the part that confused me as you watch this scene, Elaina goes from "all in" to "I can't do this" in less than a minute. Needless to say there was so much going on with other characters and the plot that these problems were fairly easy to look over and the film certainly still kept my interest during its running time.
All in all I would recommend The Scarehouse for those looking for a slick revenge style indie film that has a throwback feel and is not afraid to throw a plot twist or two in for good measure! The Scarehouse is available on most VOD services such as iTunes, Amazon, YouTube, and Google Play. I was not informed of any blu/dvd release but if that changes I'll let you know here on HalloweenOverkill! Check out The Scarehouse and let me know in the comments what you thought! I'm sure interested to see what Gavin and Sarah Booth can cook up for us next! You can also view the trailer below and check out the Official Scarehouse - The Movie website.
(note: The Scarehouse was filmed on location at The Scarehouse Windsor and has no affiliation with The Scarehouse located in Pittsburgh PA - an amazing haunted attraction by the way!)
All in all I would recommend The Scarehouse for those looking for a slick revenge style indie film that has a throwback feel and is not afraid to throw a plot twist or two in for good measure! The Scarehouse is available on most VOD services such as iTunes, Amazon, YouTube, and Google Play. I was not informed of any blu/dvd release but if that changes I'll let you know here on HalloweenOverkill! Check out The Scarehouse and let me know in the comments what you thought! I'm sure interested to see what Gavin and Sarah Booth can cook up for us next! You can also view the trailer below and check out the Official Scarehouse - The Movie website.
(note: The Scarehouse was filmed on location at The Scarehouse Windsor and has no affiliation with The Scarehouse located in Pittsburgh PA - an amazing haunted attraction by the way!)
Full Disclosure: A digital screener was made available to HalloweenOverkill by The Scarehouse writer/director
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