HOUSES
OF HELL: 4 MOVIES (2008-2012)
American
Horror House (2012), The Dunwich Horror (2008), House of Bones
(2009), Mask Maker (2010). Various Directors. (354 min)
ON
DVD FROM
Review
by Josey, the Sudden Catđ
This
DVD set from Mill Creek Entertainment collects a batch of derivative
haunted house thrillers. Like other recent collections, all four
films come courtesy of Active Entertainment, long-time purveyors of
SyFy Channel schedule fillers. As
usual, each features a recognizable face or two showing up to pay the
bills, and if expectations
are kept in check, a couple of them are sort-of enjoyable.
American
Horror House is probably the best of the lot, which still doesn’t
make it all that great, but at-least it appears to be trying. The
basic premise is decent, though it’s ultimately a supernatural
slasher film punctuated by some nifty death scenes. House of Bones
trucks out every haunted house trope in the book, with the added
bonus of Corin Nemic, whose goofy performance suggests he’s
well-aware this ain’t exactly The Haunting. Still, the
movie’s kinda fun.
 |
| For some, it takes only one lick to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop. |
On
the other hand, The Dunwich Horror, another adaptation of H.P.
Lovecraft’s story, is a colossal bore that wastes the talents of
cult legend Jeffrey Combs. Finally, Mask Maker is more-or-less
a Friday the 13th knock-off with a batch of
obnoxious college kids providing the body count. Some familiar character
actors pop-up here and there (what were you thinking, Treat
Williams?), but gory kills are its only virtue.
Unless
you’ve never seen a horror movie in your life, all four of these
films are predictable to a fault and virtually fright-free. Still,
House of Bones and American Horror House are watchable
enough. The other two are strictly for undiscriminating die-hards.
KITTY CONSENSUS:
NOT BAD. LIKE CAT CHOW.
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