Haunt (2014)

Excellent adaptation.

A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

I agree with some of the reviewers > stre3xHCCH and > gavin6942 they both had good points, The movie start really interesting in terms of narrative and plot, mysterious enough and creepy, but end in mediocrity.All starts when a family the Morello's moves in a classic beautiful house for a new beginning, full of hope with a great business prospective, but that short lived as all ends in tragedy, when their young children all teens and their father die of violent death in the house (and out)..Anyway time has passed and a new family whose the house is sold to, moves in and they also have three teen children, one of them Evan, the quiet one, meets this young girl in the woods one night going for a walk, named Sam, whose we don't really know or learn anything about her, except she has a violent father and until the end, we get just a glimpse, and not enough to satisfy the building up of the beginning of the story, imho. When Evan and Sam found this radio and mess about, then things begin to manifest,and not in a good way, which would usually mean that the fun begins, but I felt like it was just rushed and not give the time to explore why and what had really happened in the house to all those people. I thought when both go to see Mrs Morello to know more, that the best was to come, but unfortunately that was not the case,the rest of the actors were not exploited enough to add intrigue, suspense, for more possibilities to produce a more entertaining and satisfying story. Even Mrs Morello who practically got away with murder (God knows for how long, we only figure that out towards the end) when we understand who Sam really is, could have been done more with her, and her family as a back story, but they failed. This movie had a lot of potential,and very good actors, and it really frustrates me, to see people behind the camera to blow it, why i gave 4stars. What a shame, all i can say...

Haunt is a very competent horror film because of its sinister atmosphere, competent direction and an interesting screenplay with some innovative elements. My favorite one of those elements was the electronic synthesizer of ghost voices, a kind of steampunk E.V.P. radio which allows communication with the deceased ones... or with whatever presence is rounding the haunted house. There are other ingenious elements in the screenplay, but I prefer not to reveal them in order to avoid spoilers. What I can reveal is that Liana Liberato and Harrison Gilbertson bring solid performances and have a perfect chemistry with each other as the "odd couple" with different methods and motivations to solve the mystery. I found the romantic sub-plot between their characters a bit irrelevant, but the investigation they make adequately combines the tense search of evidences with paused reflections about the origin of the supernatural events. Speaking of which, Haunt makes a good use of practical effects in order to bring the ghosts and appearances to shape, obtaining some good shocks and moments of a delicious suspense. On the negative side, some edition tricks and sonorous accents feel a bit excessive. Nevertheless, I found Haunt a very entertaining horror film with an interesting mystery, good scares and credible characters who, at the difference of many films from this genre, generate empathy on the audience. Comparing Haunt with other "haunted house" films from the last 5 years, I would place it below Insidious or The Conjuring, but above Sinister or any of the Paranormal Activity sequels.

Dear Ms Weaver, sack your agent.From her grating narrative at the start - I wanted somebody to punch her in the throat - I had issues with this film.More warnings appeared when it became apparent that the only way the director knew how to produce a scare was with a sudden jump-cut of a figure standing behind someone. Literally, this was their only fright mechanism.Then it drags on like some poor ghost of a butler lugging chains around a deserted mansion - at least you know you could sit down and have a smoke with him and strike up an interesting chat.And I can't detail the end without ticking the spoiler box, but let me say two things:* The TV survived, even though I had an immediate urge to kick it in* Straight after this we watched the Lego Movie... and it TRASHED all over this piece of dreck.The LEGO Movie was better than this.No, it's worth saying a third time-THE LEGO MOVIE WAS A BILLION TIMES BETTER THAN THIS FILM.Don't waste your time watching this cheap lump of vomit, go watch something clever instead like The Conjuring (textbook but perfectly done), The Quiet Ones (strange, slow, but very clever) or the original Japanese version (the correct version) of Ring if you haven't seen it.

An introverted teen (Harrison Gilbertson) connects with his new neighbor (Liana Liberato), and together the couple begins to explore the haunted house that his family has unknowingly just purchased.There are some things worth liking about this film. The cinematographer is excellent, first of all, and the snow shots look great. Casting Liana Liberato was a wise move, as she has "the look" that could really take her places in the coming years. And the inclusion of the supernatural radio (for lack of a better term) was cool.What was not appreciated was the writer's apparent influence from "American Horror Story". Maybe this is all coincidental, but the house full of ghosts, the strange neighbor, it all seemed very familiar. And not really in a good way. Other reviews have called the film unoriginal, and they are right. While few horror films are, this one is even more derivative than others.Perhaps most strange of all was the poor advertising from IFC. The cover art is not terribly persuasive, and they make no mention of Jacki Weaver or Ione Skye. Weaver gets a mention on the back, but these are two names that should be put prominently on the cover. Why would you not play up having a two-time Oscar nominee in your film?