Title: THE HOUSES OCTOBER BUILT

IN THEATERS, VOD AND iTUNES: 10.10.14

The Houses October Built is a found footage horror film about a group of friends who tour the southern states in an RV, seeking out the most extreme haunted houses. They hear rumors of an elusive underground haunt called “The Blue Skeleton” and interview volunteers at these haunted houses to maybe get a hint as to its whereabouts.

One night at a haunt, they all get pretty drunk and pumped and make a spectacle of themselves which seems to piss off the proprietors. They get accosted by one of them in a clown costume who follows them as they leave in their RV. They start to notice at every haunt they attend, the costumed actors from that same haunt who show up randomly and sort of stalk them.  Halloween night, their last day on the road they get an invitation to Blue Skeleton that’s being held in Baton Rouge; it will be the last haunt they will ever see.

The Good:I liked that they inter-cut with what looked like real news footage of actual horrific happenings at these haunted houses  – a girl got hung and died, and a convicted child molester was found working at one.  Clowns are effing scary even when they aren’t trying to be. Each time we meet a new one, they’re more grotesque than the last. The decaying china doll girl was creepy, but they really got me cringing with the clowns.  I am not really a haunted house fan, but I did volunteer in a couple of them and you do get into it. The paintball one looked like a lot of fun and the actors looked like they thoroughly enjoyed it as well.

The Bad: Ugh another found footage horror film. They really didn’t need to make this film found footage. This would’ve been an alright film on it’s own if they bothered to go the extra mile. It’s been 15 years since The Blair Witch project, which was a shitty movie but still clever. Most films you would think would want to stray from the comparison, but it’s hard not to compare with the same bad shaky cam and screaming at things we don’t get to see. Most of the time we “hear” what’s going on and we don’t get to see much. The character relationships aren’t that clear.  They’re supposed to be friends for 20-so years, but most of the time they act like they’ve just met a few days ago.  Did they all bang the chick? Why are they all so protective of this uppity bitch? Seriously, why did they let her tag along if she’s that much of a drag?  We keep flashbacks to her stuck in a trunk and I was thinking, “are they going to kill her yet, because they’re really stretching this out too long.”

This is an okay film if you’re coulrophobic (clowns), or are a haunted house fan, but it felt redundant as a found footage horror film.  I would’ve liked this film a lot better if it were just a documentary on haunted houses.

Acting: C

Reviewed by: JM Willis