Haunt Review: An Unsettling Haunted House You Will Want To Explore

Release date: October 22, 2020 (single disc and collector's edition Blu-ray releases)
Running time: 92 minutes
Starring: Katie Stevens, Will Brittain, Andrew Lewis Caldwell, Lauryn Alisa McClain, Schuyler Helford, Justin Marxen, Chaney Morrow
Written and Directed by: Scott Beck and Bryan Woods

On Halloween, a group of friends encounter an "extreme" haunted house that promises to feed on their darkest fears.  The night turns deadly as they come to the horrifying realization that some nightmares are very real.  As they make their way deeper into the haunted house, they encounter all sorts of real and perceived dangers, and get separated from each other.  But trying to escape this haunted house will be a nightmare all on its own.

Haunt is a very solid horror film that does almost everything right.  The writers were the ones behind the Quiet Place (and the delayed Quiet Place Part II) and you can easily see that influence in this film. The sound design is solid, with an expert use of both quiet and loud audio to keep you on your toes.  And the sounds are really impactful: smashes, crunches, creepy sounds, they all are used with great effect.  And often times, the lack of sound is what strikes you as you wait for that big jump scare or loud boom.  It is a tense movie and it uses jump scares effectively, but it doesn't rely on them.  

And the characters, while being somewhat horror tropes, are all enjoyable together as they try to get through this haunted house.  Each has a different personality and although only one of the character's backstory is explored, the group as a whole is a good cohesive unit.  Their interactions, both helpful and harmful, really help to keep you engaged and rooting for the friends.  And the masked haunted house occupants are just fantastic.  The masks are so incredibly creepy and the use of the characters is just perfect.  They don't feel overly strong, but they just show up at the right places and are ruthless when they need to be.  But they also up the creepiness by being mostly silent, giving you little insight into who they are and why they are doing this.  

And the unsettling aspects spill over into the film itself.  There are several scenes that are violent and painful to watch, but Haunt has the right balance of gore and discretion.  It never feels like you are watching torture porn; rather the film has just enough violent, gruesome aspects to give you an idea of the consequences involved, but not so much that the film feels gratuitous.  And the film has just as many gruesome moments as unsettling, tense moments where nothing happens.  It feels like its playing with the viewers; there were many scenes when I waited for something to pop out and jump scare only to have nothing happen.  It is a masterful balance.  If there are criticisms with the film, it is that some of the character's dialog isn't as sharp and there is one scene where a character seems to go through an important character change only to then revert back moments later.  But Haunt is a solid horror film that does pretty much everything right.  And it concludes with a fulfilling ending and an end credits song that is simply phenomenal.  

Haunt's combination of atmospheric, impactful sound, tense and gruesome horror, and unsettling villains makes this a haunted house you will want to explore.

Watch it.

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Haunt is available on disc, digital, and on demand October 22.  The film is being released on blu ray in both a one disc set and a collectors edition, that includes a ton of great content.  Specifically, the collectors edition includes the commemorative 2 disc set will treat fans to the Original CD Soundtrack by tomandandy, four 16” x 20” movie poster reproductions, a 16” x 20” reproduction of the haunt map, six enamel pins featuring the eerie costume masks worn by the villains in the film, four 2” x 3 ½” replica VHS box-style magnets, and over 5 hours of special features including a NEW To Escape the Haunt: The Making of HAUNT featurette. 

For additional information about the film and to rent / buy it, check it out at the links below.

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