House of Ghosts (2012)

Simply A Masterpiece

Powerful

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

HOUSE OF GHOSTS is possibly the best of indie director Christopher R. Mihm's throwback attempts to recapture the nostalgia of 1950s cult cinema. The rest of his films have been sci-fi efforts whereas this one is an open spoof of HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL complete with a Mihm cameo recalling William Castle. A bunch of silly characters assemble in an old dark house for spooky fun. The usual overacting and quirky humour abounds, and there's even a big skeleton set-piece. It's not bad for a film mostly set in a single location with a bunch of amateur cast members.

I enjoy bad movies. I will not deny it. Especially old B horror movies. A friend of mine picked up House of Ghosts out of a dollar bin at a used bookstore in Minnesota. We thought it looked like a fun, schlocky, good time. What it ends up being is a movie that is desperately trying to recapture the magic of genre movies past. It falls flat on its face and instead we get a cheap imitation that completely misses the mark in all categories. Brutal film making. Embarrassing. I'm not a critic but I know what I like... and this, I do not like. Not worth your time. You can pick up a more entertaining movie out of a pack of 50 Horror Greats for $5.

With an estimated budget of only $3k, Christopher R. Mihm seems to have a recipe for success. HOUSE OF GHOSTS is my first Mihm experience and I must say I am looking forward to viewing his other films.Yes, the budget shows. The acting is not very good, but not horrible. The story is nothing special. The setting is very simplistic. The special effects are not very special and are quite comical at times (like the dog on the wall). You would think this film is terrible by my comments thus far, yet I could not stop watching. Like the World's Ugliest Dog Contest, it had a certain charm to it.I enjoyed the film being shot in black and white. While I already mentioned I was not too high on the acting, I did enjoy Justen Overlander. I think it is because he reminds me of Michael C. Hall (DEXTER, SIX FEET UNDER), who is one of my favorite actors. I think if given the opportunity, Mr. Overlander could act in much bigger budget films or in a TV Series. Granted, this is all I have seen him in, but I have a good feeling I will enjoy his acting in his other films as well.So while HOUSE OF GHOSTS is obviously an extremely low budget film, and it shows, I could not stop watching it. Christopher R. Mihm appears to be a pretty talented man given the budget he had to work with. Writing, directing, producing and editing? That's a lot of work. Given a bigger budget and some help, I think he could become pretty successful in film making. Not that he is not successful now, because anyone who can get a film made is successful in my eyes (let alone getting 8 done in 8 years). So congratulations Mr. Mihm. I look forward to seeing your other films.