Haunt

“Most people are so ungrateful to be alive, but not you, not any more…”

John- Saw

I’ll admit I was skeptical when a friend recommended Haunt to me. Haunted house movies tend not to work. Not haunted houses movies like The Conjuring but the funhouse type. Movies like Hell Fest and The Houses that October Built are typically cheesy and predictable. Haunt is anything but that. This film is a borderline blockbuster and is destined to be a Halloween favorite.

Writer/director combo Scott Beck and Bryan Woods are best known for helping Jim Krasinski write A Quiet Place. While these films are very different, they have key similarities. Both films have excellent scripts. Haunt is a smooth and terrifying film. The characters are fully shaped, and the evil is completely unexplained. I’ve written many times how a good horror movie doesn’t need to explain why its villains are murdering.

Haunt’s lead, Katie Stevens, is a surprisingly adequate scream queen. Stevens got her start at 16 years old on American Idol. I don’t know about her singing ability, but she has acting chops. She plays Harper, an abused girl who has PTSD. The character arc is a trope, but Stevens is perfect. The rest of the cast is merely serviceable. She carries this film on her back, making up for any lackluster side performances.

The extreme haunted house is set up beautifully, and it’s tough to decipher what is an illusion or what is real. The directors do an amazing job of not showing their hand before they need to. The tension and pacing are very tight. While there are slight missteps in the plot, the film does a good job of not lingering.

The biggest problem with Haunt is that its side characters make dumb choices constantly. This is a huge issue with horror films across the board. I know that making every character act rationally wouldn’t be good entertainment, but the reliance on tropes is frustrating. Does a character need to fall? Does a character need to drop their keys? Does the group really need to split up?

Beck and Woods are very talented writers and directors. I’m shocked this movie doesn’t have a cult following yet. It’s fun, gory, and terrifying. Katie Stevens is a revelation as Harper, and I’m sure she will have a huge career. The effects, gore, and set pieces are masterfully done as well. While Haunt doesn’t say anything new and falls prey to classic horror movie tropes, it is an awesome Halloween movie.