PLOT: On Halloween night, a group of college students ditch a frat party in favor of an extreme haunted house. 

Haunt is kind of great. I looked on IMDB and saw that it’s currently a 6.2 out of 10. Now, I don’t usually put too much stock in IMDB scores, but I thought this was a little low. Haunt hits such a great sweet spot that I think studio horror is currently lacking. There’s plenty of what critics would call “elevated horror”, movies like Hereditary, Get Out, and The Witch. On the other end of the spectrum, Happy Death Day proves that horror comedy is alive and well. Haunt on the other hand, delivers the violence and scares without relying too heavily on cheap jump scares. 

Haunt takes place on Halloween night, as Harper’s friends drag her to a frat party to help her forget about her abusive, controlling boyfriend. They meet up with a couple of guys there, but then head out early and hit up an extreme haunted house that promises the ultimate scares. Once they’re in, they realize that the scares are real and they’re now in a fight for their lives against the sadistic masked workers. 

I had a great time with this. The set pieces are great, as each room in the haunted house creates its own brand of scares. Throughout the whole film, our characters feel truly in danger, and while this movie doesn’t necessarily hit incredibly new notes, it’s a fun film, and one I can see myself revisiting. 

OVERALL

This is a great time. It’s violent and creepy and each new room allows the filmmakers to create a whole new scare. The characters are kind of stock and there’s not anything terribly inventive, but it does what it does well and it manages to be a standout in an avenue of horror that few are treading these days. A strong recommend. 

Overall Rating: 8 out of 10