Review of Haunt (2014) by Johnny T — 25 Apr 2014

Haunt is a disappointment despite a star turn by Jacki Weaver. Mac Carter repeatedly compromises his intuitive, and often elegantly framed, glances at his main characters' teenage blues by too busily going through amateur-night gesticulations of spooking his audience. You expect something called Haunt to produce a few chills. This one has all the chills of a Baptist church Halloween social. Bland and bordering on nonsensical, Haunt trots out all the standard haunted-house tropes without breathing any new life into them. Too often, Carter sacrifices characterization for one more flickery effect or carefully composed shot of moody elegance, then overdoes unlighted interiors to an almost absurd degree. A humdrum, even irritating slog that, safe to say, won't be giving anyone a sleepless night. There's lots of mixed film stock and screeches on the soundtrack (as in the credits for "Seven"), but this gets annoying, as do the predictable twists. By the time the final act unleashes its revelations and peril, "Haunt" has felt more like an exercise in formal spookiness than a full-blooded story of lingering malevolence. But what's weird about Haunt is that while it's all overly familiar, it also makes zero sense. Haunt winds up being memorable only for its absence of subtlety or surprise. No matter how well-made it is, you have seen every minute of this movie before.

VERDICT: "Hit The Exits" - [Panned Reaction] These are some of the worst films ever made. These films do everything wrong and do it worse than bad. Audiences should never see this film under any circumstances! (Films that are rated 0.5 or 1 stars).