Dark House (2009)

16% of users liked it
(225 ratings)

A cutting-edge haunted house attraction is constructed inside a foster home that was the scene o a gruesome murder spree, and the young performers begin to die in the most horrible ways imaginable when the killer's ghost is stirred from its slumber. Charismatic and flamboyant, Walston Rey (Jeffrey… More A cutting-edge haunted house attraction is constructed inside a foster home that was the scene o a gruesome murder spree, and the young performers begin to die in the most horrible ways imaginable when the killer's ghost is stirred from its slumber. Charismatic and flamboyant, Walston Rey (Jeffrey Combs) is a true master of illusion. Upon discovering a derelict foster home where a killer named Janet Darrode murdered several children, Walston believes he has found the perfect venue for his most recent venture - a haunted attraction driven by revolutionary new holographic technology. With holographs, Walston can create harmless projections that possess the power to terrify ticket buyers. But he'll need some volunteers to complete the illusion, and young drama student Claire is the perfect candidate. Little does Walston realize that Claire has a hidden motivation for showing up at the foster home, and when the ghost of Janet Darrode returns to kill again, Claire prepares to finally face the darkness she once ran away from. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 25 min.
Directed By: Darin Scott
Written By: Darin Scott, Kerry Douglas Dye
Genres: Mystery & Suspense, Horror

On DVD: Sep 28, 2010
Studio: Lightning Media

Critic Reviews

Cary Darling, Dallas Morning News
Despite a nice twist at the end and at least one deliciously demonic over-the-top performance, it's about as scary as The Simpsons "Treehouse of Horror" episode.
G. Allen Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle
Regrettably, Scott the director is better than Scott the writer - the script is standard-issue, by the numbers, with no sense of character development.
Frank Swietek, One Guy's Opinion
A very mild haunted house opus whose low-budget special effects prove more risible than scary.

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Featured Audience Ratings

Jeff "

Dark House is a low budget Horror film that tries too hard to be in the same league as the Hollywood productions. The question is, does it work? Well no. The cast here do a below average job at acting, and the script is pretty weak. Which is a shame because the idea for this film was… More
Dark House is a low budget Horror film that tries too hard to be in the same league as the Hollywood productions. The question is, does it work? Well no. The cast here do a below average job at acting, and the script is pretty weak. Which is a shame because the idea for this film was pretty interesting, unfortunately it's budget limitations are in the way along with a bad script. Re-Animator actor, Jeffrey Combs plays in this film, and he's often amusing, but he lacks the flair that made him great in Re-Animator. Dark House has too many loose ends to be a good story, and definitely a below average film that doesn't quite succeed on what it promises to deliver. If the cast was better chosen, and I'm not talking about Combs, maybe this film would have been a better one, unfortunately the film feels flat, the scares aren't real. The film ends up feeling quite boring, and it feels like it drags on. Dark House really had the potential in being a great film, unfortunately it's just another low-budget horror blunder. There were some good ideas at work here, unfortunately the film never succeeds at delivering something good and unique. The film falls apart, and it becomes derivative and uninteresting. I think it's a shame because there were some fairly interesting ideas here, unfortunately due to a bad script, and poor directing, the film never takes off and becomes a misfire. Dark House is a bad film that I can't recommend because it's simply a film that doesn't work to entertain its audience.
Steve K

Semi-interesting with a somewhat generic premise... you've seen it before but it's enough to pass the time.
Dead A

How come Danso Gordon's head came back in the end? If the police was right then yeah, that's okay then. But the ending definitely didn't agreed with the police. The story was L-A-M-E. Will not make any sense in any angle. That house didn't look creepy at all. And… More
How come Danso Gordon's head came back in the end? If the police was right then yeah, that's okay then. But the ending definitely didn't agreed with the police. The story was L-A-M-E. Will not make any sense in any angle. That house didn't look creepy at all. And why did that girl (who entered the house in the beginning) roamed around here and there as if she was in a museum of dead people? And also, I think it will be a bit offensive for religious people if they see the Bible burning thingy. Special effects were the only jewelery of this movie to show off. There were some moments I literally jumped. But that's about it. The twist at the end was good. But not good enough to recommend anyone to watch this.