Director: Brendan Rudnicki
Year: 2026
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Ghosts
Plot:
With the building set to be destroyed, a group of ghost-hunters set out to investigate a supposedly haunted building said to be the hideout for a serial killer in the area several years ago, and is now haunted by him and his former victims, forcing them to find a way to get out alive.
Review:
Overall, this was a fairly fun if flawed genre effort. One of the finer factors here is the generally likable setup, giving this one quite a lot to like by introducing a lot of familiar elements to present its story. The premise of the ghost-hunting show looking to investigate a supposedly haunted house said to contain the souls of individuals trapped by a serial killer during his rampage when he stalked the area years ago, only to find themselves in way over their heads during the session, serves this one well enough by making the familiar storyline work to its advantage. By keeping everything grounded at such a familiar idea that it can work through the series of hauntings and scares throughout here to the point of introducing the necessary backstory to the house and setting off on their investigation in quick order, so the familiarity isn’t that important.
This setup allows the film to run through the haunting scenes rather nicely as the brisk, enjoyable pacing brings about the usual series of scares and uneasy moments. Given the backstory involved the killer utilizing the fear of clowns to help make it more unnerving whenever he went after victims, this manages some effective enough moments using ghostly or possessed clown imagery to make for a chilling enough atmosphere to go alongside the genuinely eerie location they’re filming in. as things continue and it includes creaks and groans in the distance or characters not catching something moving about behind while attempting part of their investigation, it all offers the kind of approach that the genre is built on featuring cheap jump-scares and an intimate shooting style that plays nicely on the creepy imagery at the core of the proceedings.
There are some issues here that hold this one down. The biggest issue with this one comes from the immensely formulaic and generally unlikely presentation that seems to break quite a few major rules of found-footage efforts. More often than not, the scenes involving footage recaptured from the security cameras placed on the walls of the facility betray the film’s found-footage origins, where it’s not captured by the type of angles or recognizable figures that the rest of the film is far more careful about, due to capturing everything with their personal cameras. That also ties into the big issue here, where it’s so basic and formulaic in its approach that there’s not much in the way of surprises or differences in the way it presents itself from other entries in the genre, being a solid if unspectacular take on the genre in most regards. These are what manage to hold this one down the most.
Overview: **.5/5
A slightly problematic, if still enjoyable enough, found-footage effort, this one comes off well enough to not be worthless, but manages to be wholly middle-of-the-road overall in most regards. Give this a shot if you're a hardcore found-footage apologist or are a fan of the creative crew, who will have the most to like here, as most others should heed caution with this one.
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