The Houses October Built (2014)

Oh fantastic, I thought... another "found footage" movie. Why is it that the only people that walk round these days carrying bulky camera gear are the same ones that will inevitably end up being chased down some spooky corridor with a masked loony in pursuit....

Thankfully, The Houses October Built isn't just another found footage pile of junk. We follow a group of young guys and gals travelling around and visiting various ghost houses of the USA. There is a market for such things, especially in October where Halloween is coming - some are family friendly and some border on extreme.

The group are looking for a real scare and are also aware that the actors employed by such houses are not always 100% kosher or nice. They push the boundaries and make a few enemies on the way all in search of the legendary "Blue Skeleton" house that is the alpha and omega of extreme scare houses. Which is when things start to get more extreme than they bargained for.

The cast is also made up of the director and producer and all actors use their real names, the banter between them is all perfectly natural and believable which is refreshing in this genre. Where as the plot is very predictable there are still enough scares and moments to make this a gripping watch.

Again the team behind this movie are fledgling and fresh so I would expect better things from them in the future and this is certainly a good start.

8/10 Masks

English
Initial release: October 10, 2014
Director: Bobby Roe
Running time: 1h 31m
Music composed by: Mark Binder
Screenplay: Jason Zada
Cast: Bobby Roe, Brandy Schaefer, Zack Andrews, Mikey Roe, Jeff Larson