Out now on VOD from Dread
During the last night of haunt in a suburban haunted house, a masked killer attacks and kills the scare actors one by one.
Written and directed by Jake Jarvi, this take on the haunted house slasher is a whole lot of fun. The writing and direction work, the jokes land well, and the kills are entertaining. Of course, this is more of a horror-comedy than a straight up horror film, so the scares are there, but they aren’t exactly super scary for those who love their horror more hardcore. Those who love blood and gore should have fun too, but it must be noted that this is not the goriest of Halloween haunt films out there by far. Now that expectations are set, the film here takes the haunted house, makes it the main location for the film, and sets its killer upon the unsuspecting scare actors. This is how you do this on a smaller budget. The writing is solid, the direction shows love for the material and a lot of heart, which in turn becomes good direction.
The cast here works well with a lot of them seemingly coming from the haunt world, perhaps scare actors themselves. The haunted house is where many of them shine and once the mayhem really starts, it’s clear that they had good screamers and horror fans in the cast. The work is good, works well with the material, and makes for a good cast in this type of film. The cast overall makes it easy to watch and care about the characters before they get dispatched. Shining in the lead is Sarah Elizabeth who has the most lines and the most interactions with others, making her part work and really giving that lead actress and star energy from the start. Others also do quite well with a few uneven performances here and there, but nothing to take the viewer out of the film.
The special effects here work quite well with some meant to look like they belong in a haunted house and some being a bit more realistic for the film’s purposes. Here we get effects that are supposed to be effects and effects that are meant to help sell the horror aspect of the film. Both types work well and allow the film to have a distinction between “reality” and “fake” within the story. This is good work and also helps the film feel like a solid Halloween film.
Cinematographer Alexander Lakin (and team) does great work by using the lighting in the haunted house just right, making the most of it for great effect on screen and to set up that haunted house atmosphere for the film. Writer-director Jake Jarvi also serves as editor here and gathers the images and puts them together in just the right way, helping the story not just move along but also setting the mood in many scenes.
Haunt Season is the perfect Halloween film for a party with friends or to leave on (out of sight of course) while giving out candy. It’s one of those fun ones that can easily become a part of the yearly schedule in October and one that horror and haunt fans should love. It’s the exact right mix of horror and comedy, of professional scare folks and low-ish budget that helps create something truly fun and entertaining.