About.com Rating

The Bottom Line

Silly, gory, flawed fun.

Pros

• Jeffrey Combs
• Fun array of creatures
• Fast paced

Cons

• So-so acting
• Ridiculous concept
• Mediocre CGI effects

Description

• Starring Meghan Ory, Jeffrey Combs, Diane Salinger, Danso Gordon, Matt Cohen, Bevin Prince, Shelly Cole, Ryan Melander
• Directed by Darin Scott
• Rated R by the MPAA for horror violence and gore, language and brief nudity.
• DVD release date: September 28, 2010 (at Blockbuster August 6)

Guide Review - 'Dark House' Movie Review

The Fangoria FrightFest showcases eight independent horror movies that individually might not get the exposure that the Fangoria name brings. One of the films receives a theatrical release (based on a fan vote), and the rest go straight to DVD and video-on-demand.

The Plot

Claire Thompson (Meghan Ory) is a struggling actress suffering from anxiety stemming from a traumatic childhood memory. More than a decade ago, she witnessed the murder scene at the notorious Darrode House, where a mentally unbalanced woman (Diane Salinger) stabbed her seven foster children to death before killing herself. When slick horror attraction showman Walston (Jeffrey Combs) offers her acting class jobs in his latest haunted house, set in the Darrode House, she jumps at the opportunity to overcome her fear once and for all.

Walston's attraction, dubbed "Dark House," is a state-of-the-art setup featuring realistic holograms of various creatures, killers and things that go "boo" in the night, but Claire's appearance awakens something evil.

It seems that Miss Darrode's spirit still haunts the place, and it manages to corrupt the computer system that runs the attraction, somehow turning the holograms into deadly reality.

The End Result

To say that Dark House makes little sense is an understatement. A literal "ghost in the machine" turning holograms into real threats (that, incidentally, are triggered by fear) is unabashedly silly, but since Dark House doesn't take itself too seriously, it works as part of the film's offbeat charm. It's plays a bit like a low-budget take on House on Haunted Hill (the 1999 remake more so than the original), with its array of murderous creatures and killers -- clowns, executioners, butchers, witches, zombies, soldiers, wraiths, knights, etc. -- and over-the-top gore conveying a level of fun and inventiveness that horror movies nowadays often neglect.

The fun quotient is pushed over the top by the performance of horror icon Jeffrey Combs (the Reanimator films) as the wacky showman extraordinaire. The remainder of the largely unknown cast isn't as charismatic, with the exception of Diane Salinger, who shines as the unhinged Miss Darrode. You might have seen her hone her "crazy skills" in the Rest Stop films as the matriarch of the RV family.

Lest I gush too much, I should clarify that Dark House isn't a great movie. Although it's grisly, it's never as scary as it wants to be. The small budget limits the impact of certain scenes, particuarly with the ill-advised use of some so-so CGI gore effects. And like I said, the plot is just plain silly. Still, whle not good, Dark House is fun in stretches; think of it as an above-average SyFy movie.

The Skinny

• Acting: C+ (Combs and Salinger pick up the slack.)
• Direction: C+ (Lacks scares but maintains a level of throwback fun.)
• Script: C- (Silly but occasionally fun with a decent twist.)
• Gore/Effects: B- (Plentiful gore and inventively designed effects, albeit of SyFy-level quality.)
• Overall: C+

Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the distributor. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.