“The Gallows” watches like a really bad “Fear Street” novel. If it were written by RL Stine at gun point. It’s beyond me that “The Gallows” managed to achieve a wide North American theatrical release with a pretty good ad campaign all around. Meanwhile, “It Follows,” a brilliant horror offering, had to rely on word of mouth. Beneath the hype “The Gallows” is a brutally boring and unscary attempt to cash in on the found footage fad that reaches the scares you’d find in a normal young adult novel. And I am being kind, since even young adult novels can often achieve some semblance of suspense and tension when they want to. “The Gallows” however is a forgettable and downright stupid effort that lacks in brains, common sense, and general creativity.
Twenty years ago, during a stage play at a local high school, one of the actors Charlie Grimille was hanged while performing on a gallows sets. Years later the school decides to revive the play with a new class, using the very same sets. I mean what could possibly go wrong there? What school in their right minds would build an actual gallows and trap door for a stupid high school stage play? Especially after an incident that likely cost them millions in lawsuits and fines? The recording duties go to world class tool Ryan who is entrusted with the camera for the duration of the movie. If you ever wondered what it’d be like if a migraine had a voice, Ryan fulfills the duties. Clearly forced in to the task, he spends his time mocking the theater geeks, the production, and even his best friend Reese, who can barely mutter any lines without seeming wooden.
As a means of protesting the play, Ryan convinces Reese and his girlfriend to sneak in to the school after dark through a broken entrance door, and completely trash the set. It should be noted they film every bit of vandalism, indicating we’re not following the smartest individuals. They suddenly realize they’re trapped in the school, and are being stalked by a mysterious supernatural presence. What occurs from there is essentially a lot of walking around, screaming to create the illusion of conflict and horror, and a plot twist that’s incredibly lame and far fetched. The characters also deduce they’ve been trapped, and decide to scatter and sneak off alone to be picked off, anyway. The film fails to build this illusion that we’re watching actual footage mainly because the performances are absolutely terrible. Particularly from Cassidy Clifford who can barely muster up a convincing scream during the entire journey to survive the phantom of the school. Throughout, this the movie looks for lame methods of filming the carnage that completely distract from the intended illusion.
The camera is always at a right angle when dropped to film the actors arguing and bickering, and character Cassidy even sets the camera down in front of her just so she can weep in terror for ten minutes. The writers and directors spend so much time trying to be clever that they create more head scratching moments than actually entertain. Is Charlie’s ghost only confined to the school? If not, then why not just murder his intended targets instead of luring them to the school? Does the school have any security cameras or security guards at all? Why send only two officers to raid the house of suspected murderers? “The Gallows” is pretty much the bottom of the barrel in the realm of the found footage concept that offers nothing unique or original. It’s a dull and dunderheaded genre offering that deserves to be in the one dollar bin at a local grocery store.