Hauntedween (1991)

Local haunted house Burber’s House of Horrors closes after son  Eddie murders a young girl at the end of the night.  His mother rushes Eddie out of the state to avoid any consequences.

Twenty years later, the local fraternity is trying to figure out how to pay their chapter more than $3000 in dues. They were only able to pay $17 last month so the frat is planning to pull their charter if not paid in full.

Lead frat boy Kurt decides they can raise money by having a party where people pay to get in. The night is a success. They even have a live band called The Side, which is apparently a real band since they are credited.

As the party is winding down, someone knocks on the door and tells the comic relief frat guy that the frat could make a lot of money if they had a haunted house in the abandoned Burber place. Then he hands him a key and wanders off. Nothing suspicious about that.

The frat is suspects it’s a joke but when the key works, they have no more concerns. They go all out to set up a haunted house that will be the scariest thing people have ever seen.  But someone else is lurking in the house and has other plans for those who are putting on the haunt.

This is supposed to be a horror/comedy but the comedic characters are annoying. There is a sub plot about how Kurt doesn’t pay enough attention to Mel, the girl he’s dating, so she breaks up with him and starts seeing another guy in the frat.  There is a really horrible, yet really catchy theme song. I hate it but I can’t get it out of my head. It’s been stuck in there for days, “In a haunted house on a Hauntedween.”

This is low budget regional horror.  In one scene Kurt drives a sports car out of the frat driveway. The pavement has a big dip and you hear the car scrape horribly as it exits. I couldn’t tell if it was the bumper of the bottom of the car, but the owner must have been unhappy with that.

Amusing dialogue

I think the little girl cut her own head off. And now she’s trying to pin it on the little boy. 

The shorts

She has a complete lack of peripheral vision

The Side play for the crowd

He brought a BABY to a haunted house??!!

Lost Creek (2016)

After his parents’ divorce, Peter and his mom move to a new town.  Peter hangs out in the woods after school where he meets Maggie.  She makes him promise not to cross the creek because it’s too dangerous.

I’m not sure if it’s the continuity or a really long walk, but it’s light when Peter leaves the woods and dark when he gets home. Mom tells Peter he’s not leaving the table until he eats his broccoli, which causes me flashbacks to nursery school and the origin story of my lifelong hatred of peas.

As the days pass, Peter begins having nightmares, his jack-o’-lanterns disappear, his neighbors disappear and his friend Bill thinks it’s odd that Maggie doesn’t attend their school. When Peter tries to talk to his mom about the neighbors, she’s overwhelmed by stuff going on in her own life and doesn’t have time to talk to him.  

With Halloween approaching, things start ramping up with more disappearances, possessed dolls and more nightmares.  Peter, Bill and Maggie are on their own to fight against what is happening in town.

This seems to be aimed at younger teens. There are some things that might be frightening to them but I don’t remember any blood.  The characters have deep conversations about growing up.  The acting isn’t great, but it’s not the worst either.

Haunt Season (2024)

After a haunt actors disappears, Matilda is hired to take her place.  Most of the actors aren’t concerned about the disappearance since sometimes people decide to move on without notice. 

Unfortunately for the crew, someone is killing the actors. I’m not sure how transient haunt actors are, but if multiple people vanish without mentioning it to anyone, maybe there’s something bad going on.

The movie was filmed at a real haunt so the lighting and make up are decent.  

Spookt (2023)

Skeptic Rachel heads to Greenville to debunk the legend of Gibson House.  It was the home of Dr. Byler who performed  unethical medical experiments. A young girl disappeared in the house and there are rumors it’s haunted.

On her way there, Rachel hears a noise in the woods and finds a doll. She believes it’s an Amish doll and could be historic. Rachel is insane. It looks brand new. It’s not dirty, stained, worn or weathered. So there’s a real possibility she just stole some poor kids doll. She drops it at a museum with a note.

When Rachel gets to the house, she’s let in by the owner and meets paranormal investigator Claire who is working with the mother of the missing girl. Claire states there is something very wrong with the house. Her friend Ben broke in awhile ago but didn’t find anything. Claire claims the house changed him and three weeks later he took his own life. 

Rachel is bitter about sharing the house with Claire. She’s antagonistic and says maybe the junkie mother of the girl is responsible for her disappearance. Yikes!  Even though the house is big enough  for each to investigate on their own, Rachel won’t leave Claire by herself and ruins her attempts at EVPs. 

When Rachel decides to stop investigating and heads to a motel, she finds the Amish doll in her room. When she asks the manger about it, the owner says it’s not an Amish doll. So much for Rachel’s stellar research. 

If there’s one thing you can guarantee about skeptics in a supposedly haunted house is they’ll be believers by the end.

Eric Robert’s is in this movie. I’m at the point where any time I see his name on a movie, my first thought is oh no. It’s just a way to trick you into watching. He’s in this for maybe five minutes.  

The note to the museum

Why this doll must be of historical significance

Happy Halloween (2024)

Hadley is back in town after an incident last year where her boyfriend went psycho, stabbed a kid he was bullying, and tried to kill her. She’s happy to be back with her friends, but pretty soon people start disappearing and being murdered. Hadley is convinced it’s her ex boyfriend, but the police just roll their eyes.

In a “close the beaches” moment, the sheriff tells the mayor they need to cancel the town’s 300 year birthday celebration and school dance.  But the mayor doesn’t want to damage the town’s reputation or lose the money put into the celebration. Dead and missing kids? Not a problem. Cancel our 300 year celebration for the safety of the town? Heretic!

Hadley’s date to the dance is football star Kagan. People suspect him of the murders even though there’s no good reason for it. In a move to advance the plot, Kagan gets angry at Hadley and leaves her alone on the street, even though there’s a killer in town and he went outside to make sure she was safe.

Ridiculous dialogue

My Halloween decorations are going to put this place on the map.

Mayor:  Sheriff? Mayor West. I just got home and I hear you’re trying to cancel the dance and birthday celebration.

Sheriff: Mayor, we have multiple students dead and a student is missing.

The Haunted Forest (2025)

High school senior Zack is staying at his cousin Mark’s farm due to family issues.  Every Halloween Mark and his wife turn the farm into a haunt.  This is Zack’s first year working there.

He meets make up artist Sara, who says she’s taking a few years off before she goes to college. I’m not sure how old that makes her but she’s hitting on a high school student so it’s a bit weird.

During staff meeting where Mark explains the expectations for the haunt this year, Sara says a Native American massacre took place on the land and the spirits still weep at night. Mark says they can honor the dead while still entertaining people, having a good time, eating burgers, and scaring customers. Sara is not amused.

When one of the crew is found hanging from the zip line, the police call it a tragic accident. But some of the staff are suspicious of a neighboring haunt due to an argument the night before and the bad blood between the farms.  Mark is afraid the death will tank his income for the month, but the next night they get the biggest crowd they’ve ever had.

Money is flowing in but on Halloween some of the staff are injured when previously safe props turn out to be dangerous. They continue the haunt not realizing someone is targeting the staff and there are murders being committed. The question becomes who is killing people at the haunt? And why does Mark let a bunch of influencers in for a private experience after the haunt closes on Halloween night? Isn’t it better to have them promote the haunt before it closes?

The Jester (2023)

When her father calls to reestablish a relationship after abandoning her and her mother, Emma tells him she’s not interested. A few days later, she finds out he died shortly after her call.  She begrudgingly decides to go to the funeral, but wants nothing to do with her half sister Jocelyn, who hopes to connect with her. 

After the funeral, Emma walks way from the grave and looks back to see The Jester dancing next to her father’s grave. It’s weird but she’s not a big fan of her dad’s so she leaves.

Jocelyn wants to bond with Emma, but Emma is too jealous to be care about her.  Jocelyn had the relationship Emma wanted with their father. He loved her, supported her and did things with her.

When Emma sees the Jester later that night near a liquor store, she is unnerved.  The Jester has a mask, orange suit and is silent. Thus begins her run ins with this odd entity and a night of killings in this small town.

The Jester is kind of annoying. Who is he? Where did he come from? What does he want? Why does he kill people? No idea.

Hansel and Gretel’s Halloween (2026)

Hansel and Gretel live in a world where you can’t go trick or treating until you’re 16. Since they’re 15 and don’t see what difference one year makes, they decide to sneak out. Their friend group each tells their parents they are staying at someone else’s house for the night.

After getting tons of candy and being ready to go home, they turn around to find an overly decorated house with it’s light on.  Gretel thinks it’s weird because she doesn’t recall ever seeing that house before. She thinks they should leave, but everyone else wants to hit this last house before going home.

The woman who answers the door flatters Hansel and asks the group to wait while she gets more treats.  After a few minutes of standing around, they go inside to see what is taking her so long.  This proves to be a horrible idea since she’s a witch who turns kids into chocolate and then eats them.

The modernized telling of this story has me wondering how the witch survives. Does she only need to eat once per year? Does she melt so many children that she has chocolate for the entire year? And why does no one but Gretel think it’s odd that a house is suddenly located in a place where no house existed before?

Gehenna (2016)

Developers looking for land to make luxury apartments run into natives protesting the sale of their sacred land, which just happens to be the land they are interested in. It’s a burial ground, which doesn’t concern the developers. 

They are curious when some natives come out from what appears to be a bunker, which is not documented on the property map. If there are tunnels below ground it could cause structural issues when they build on top of it.

One of the protestors drops the totem he’s using to worship and  warns them of their folly. As they enter the bunker, one of the team picks it up. There are no lights so they use the lights on their phones and video camera. While exploring, they come across some dead bodies.  They really should leave at this point.

When they hear a noise, it turns out to be an old blind guy who knows Alan’s name and screams at them to get out. Well ,except for Alan who must die. At this point, there is an earthquake and they wake up to find the lights on and everything clean. Oh are you thinking what I’m thinking? Yeah I’m sure you are because it’s fairly obvious what is going on.

So until they explain it ad nauseam, be prepared for lots of wandering around a bunker with characters you don’t particularly like.

Stalker Club (2017)

When a group of friends receives an anonymous text which asks them to click the link to join the stalker club, they are intrigued. The rules are as follows: you can’t tell anyone about stalker club; one of you is the stalker;  you can guess who the stalker is; and if you guess wrong you’re out.

After one of them opens a bag full of bees, the group agrees to end the game, even though no one will admit to being the stalker.  How do you fill a bag with bees anyway? And where did you get the bees? Also why would you do that to your friends?

But the game isn’t over yet and people start dying.  When Ashley gets locked in the library, a man in a mask tries to kill her. She sets off the fire alarm to get help ,but the police don’t believe her story.  They say ask her if she really saw him. You’d think they’d take it seriously when two of her friends have recently died.

It turns out years ago the stalker club is not a new thing and something happened years ago.  Why does this club still exist? 

Rabisu : Curse of the Demon (2025)

A group of paranormal investigators gets a tip about an old warehouse which supposedly holds an urn containing a seven foot tall specter named Rabisu.  The person who is supposed to let them in never shows up. But his office is open and they find keys on the desk.  They justify it’s fine to take the keys since he was going to let them in anyway.

As they split up and search for the urn, one of their team becomes possessed and murders another member. This sets off a panic and as the film progresses the demon jumps from person to person so no one is safe.

Host Simon is a sleazebag who only cares about increasing the views on this channel. Even after people start dying, he pulls the camera man aside and tells him don’t stop filming no matter what happens. 

The Ceremony is About to Begin (2024)

Keith is a filmmaker who gets a message from his ex girlfriend Maddy saying she’s been thinking of him.  Keith is having trouble in his marriage and has always missed Maddy. He was in love with her when she left him to join the Osiris Collective, which calls itself a spiritual group but he believes is a cult.  When he finally responds, Maddy does not answer. 

He decides to do a documentary on the group. Through interviews with former members, he learns the group was led by Osiris who they refer to as father. Members give up their belongings when they join and then pick a new name.   

After Osiris introduced a young man named Anubis to the group, cliques developed and those who disagreed with Anubis became outcasts.  One day Osiris and Anubis went on a hike and only Anubis returned, claiming Osiris died so he was now the leader. A number of people become disillusioned at this point and left the group.  

Keith wants to find Maddy so he sets up a meeting with Anubis. He expects to see cult members at the compound, but it appears empty other than Anubis. Things keep getting weirder and more unnerving but Keith is dedicated his documentary and reconnecting with Maddie. Poor sweet innocent Keith, you should know better than to trust a man you believe is a cult leader..

Near (2023)

Hollis isn’t living the good life. He stays in a tent in his aunt’s backyard and she’s sick of it. His long distance girlfriend Nova, who he’s never met, dumps him.  He feels like he’s cursed because everyone who gets near him seems to die: his previous girlfriend; his best friend; a clerk at a store he entered. As each person dies, it seems like the death radius around him expands.

He decides to visit Nova and starts walking through the woods to avoid people. But there is another group also headed Nova’s way.  It’s three idiots with a large number of followers who record their blackmail and robbery plans.  Nova is supposed to have a lot of money. So one of the guys has been dating her and pretending to like her. But they just want to rob her.

When everyone ends up in the same place, it doesn’t go well.  At the beginning of the movie, I wondered if the deaths around Hollis were a coincident, but it quickly becomes apparent that no one should be anywhere near him. So his trip to see Nova is a mixed message since he’s not there for revenge.

Borneo Incident(2013)

Five friends go on a trip to Malaysia, with the intent to visit Borneo where Henry is planning on seeing his estranged family.  They want to make a documentary of the trip since Henry’s relatives are part of a tribe who doesn’t like outsiders. I’m sure that will go well.

They meet with Danny, who left the tribe for the big city when he was younger.  He is going to help them navigate the customs and  translate for Henry and his friends.  Danny explains general information about the long houses and that they need to follow the tribes traditions. 

They’re idiots so they ignore Danny’s advice.  He warns them a second time to respect and adhere to the tribals customs or they could lose their heads. They still don’t grasp that disrespecting a tribe that dislikes outsiders is not a good idea.

After a day exploring the jungle, they end up stranded when their driver doesn’t show. They figure the her got delayed and he’ll pick them up tomorrow. But one of them disappears and they fear someone or something is after them. Silly tourists, that will teach you to disrespect others.

The Mitchin Murders (2024)

Jesse, who is doing her post graduate study in journalism, invites her ex-boyfriend Tom to help her investigate the Mitchin murders. They started four years ago in 1990.  A suspect was arrested but later released when he had alibi’s for some of the deaths and a woman was  attacked while he was in jail. 

Interviews are arranged with two survivors, who couldn’t have more different demeanors.  Maisie is reserved and seems traumatized.  Sarah is detached but excited to use this as a stepping stone to an acting career.  

Tom ends up leaving because he thinks it’s getting too dangerous. But Jesse refuses to give up her documentary to stay safe.  She should be more cautious though because there are some risks that aren’t smart, such as going into the woods when there is an active killer in town.

The problem with Jesse’s documentary is that she’s in it too much. Is this about the murders or your investigation?  Also she gets it in her head that a 1924 incident - possibly  due to a raccoon - could be helpful to the police in solving the serial killer case.  I’m wondering if she went to an accredited college.

Since this is found footage, we know Jesse is going to pay for her incautious wanderings and stirring up the locals.

Ridiculous dialogue 

Okay viewers, just to give you a heads up. I’ve been to the library and I may have found something. In 1924, a woman was attacked in the town of Mitchin, but she managed to flee.  She had strange markings all over her body, some say were similar to raccoon bites. The attack happened here on the ridge. Maybe I should tell the police about this. It could help with their investigation.

Devil Dog: Hound from Hell

When their dog is hit by a car, Bonnie and Charlie are devastated.  As luck would have it, they walk out their door a few days later and a truck is stopped in front of their house.  The vendor tells them he has a puppy who needs a good home, and after Bonnie begs to adopt him, Charlie agrees. Surprisingly their parents Mike and Betty go along with it.

While the kids love the new dog, Mike isn’t sure about him.  The dog seems to be watching him.  The maid doesn’t like the dog either and is afraid of him.  After going out for the night, the family comes home to find the maid has died in a fire.  The parents are horrified but the kids are unfazed.

Mike suspects the dog had some role in the maids death, but has no proof.  While mowing the lawn, the dog stares at him which is unnerving. As the dog stares, Mike fights the urge to stick his arm in the mower.  Yup, that dog is a problem.

This movie is ridiculous and kind of fun. I can’t think of another movie that involves a satanic cult that gives out evil puppies. 

 

The Devil’s Mouth (2026)

A group of college friends go to Thailand on vacation. Max and her boyfriend James, Adriana and her new boyfriend Greg, and Sara want to go out on the ocean but no boats are available. Max says she’s charming and hot, and can get anything she wants. I already hate her.

Max’s words prove to be true and the group is soon on a yacht.  While the others play a game, Sara decides to go into the water with a scuba mask. When Max mistakenly tells the captain everyone is on board, they leave Sara behind. To add insult to injury, Sara is repeatedly stung when she swims into a swarm of jellyfish.

After the yacht turns around and Sara receives medical treatment, she and Max make up. Max should be conciliatory but instead she blames Sara, who lets it go so Max won’t ruin the trip.  

The group are going caving, which is important to Sara because this is a cave her father loved.  Their tour guide tells them to follow his instructions and Max prepares to veto that.  When he suggests they take the path based on their skill level, she says it’s too easy and convinces everyone to agree to the more difficult path.  Sara is the only one who objects and the only one wearing a life jacket.

The guide tells them not to damage anything, but Max does what she wants and carves her initials into the rocks. When the guide sees a shark and says they need to leave, Max refuses since they just got there.  Sara is the only one who agrees and urges them to listen to their guide. The others huddle on a rock and refuse to get back into the water. 

As the group argues amongst themselves, their guide says it’s their choice to follow him or stay in the cave. They don’t want to get in the water and are too busy arguing to realize he’s left. Oh but now that he’s gone, they are getting in the water, even though they aren’t sure how to get back.  It will not go well for them, especially with someone like Max who can’t handle anyone who doesn’t agree with what she wants. 

There is always a weasel in this type of movie. The one who sacrifices their friends to save themselves, but demands total loyalty and gets upset if their friend has some sense of self preservation.  Someone who always has to be the center of attention and always get their way, or they play the victim. Sara is blamed by Max for occasionally disagreeing with her, and by Max’s boyfriend for not standing up to her.  You end up rooting for the shark to help Sara so she never has to deal with these people again.

Ridiculous dialogue

James: Don’t pretend like you’re not part of the problem.

Sara: What do you mean?

James: You let her be in charge.

Do Not Enter (2026)

A group of urban explorers want more views for their YouTube channel. They have recently parted ways with a new member because he broke the cardinal rule of urban exploration - take only photos, leave only footprints - when he demolished a wall looking for valuables.

They get a lead on exploring the Paragon, an old hotel where a mobster supposedly stashed 300 million dollars. Everyone who looks for the money disappears, but they believe they’ll have different luck. It’s worth the risk because the location will rack up tons of views and increase the visibility of their channel. They’re not worried about surviving, but they should be. If everyone who enters the building disappears, there is definitely something going on, even if it’s just people falling through rotten floors or inhaling toxic air.

They head to the hotel with a reporter who is doing a story on the exploration.  Once inside they wander around and then Diane disappears.  They decided to search room by room, floor by floor.  Guys, that’s not a good plan since it’s a freaking hotel with hundreds of rooms and at least five floors. 

During their exploration, they find newspapers which state the hotel closed after the Paragon owner went missing after his wife was murdered.  Based on their shocked faces, I assume they have done no research about the hotel they decided to explore. So it’s even less likely they won’t find the mystery treasure since the place is massive and they know nothing about it. 

Soon things get worse when Rick steps in a bear trap in the hallway and a rival urbex group, which includes the banished JD, shows up and demands the $300 million they haven’t even located yet.  The Scavengers are psychos as they have no qualms about pushing Rick off a balcony. What the hell.

Unbeknownst to both teams, there is something in the hotel that is not of this Earth and is not happy to see them.  At least it’s not leaving the hotel and only people foolish enough to go inside will be in danger.

Underground (2024)

 

A group of women go on a bachelorette party trip.  They dress up in costumes and go bar hopping and then get a taxi to go back to the hotel. But they’re obnoxious, throw food at each other, and when one pukes several times, the drives put them out.

They’re in the middle of nowhere in the dark. So they start walking and run across a tourist attraction which is tunnels built by the Nazi’s.  It’s closed for the season so they take a shortcut through a field.  When they turn around Ziggy is gone. 

As they backtrack, they discover a hatch in the ground which is an entrance to the tunnels and she’s fallen down it. There is a ladder but Ziggy is too injured to climb up.  Having lost critical thinking, all of them climb down into the tunnel and set up a camera to film themselves discussing how they should help her. 

When someone on the surface locks the hatch, they have no way out. As they explore the tunnels, strange things happen and they end up back at the museum.  A phone in the display starts ringing which is creepy since it’s not plugged in. Something odd is happening and they don’t know what is real. It’s found footage so you know things will not end well for them.

These people drove me nuts. They all went down in the bunker rather than have one or two stay above ground in case something went wrong.  Also if locked in an underground tunnel in a tourist attraction  closed for the season, be more attuned to the need to preserve your phone battery. You don’t need to film everything. 

The frog costume at the bar

If your friend falls into a tunnel and gets injured,
be sure to set up your camera to film the rescue attempt

Festival of the Living Dead (2024)

It’s Ash’s birthday and she’s taking care of her little brother Luke for the weekend. Her best friend Iris comes over to celebrate but finds out Ash has invited her boyfriend Kevin and his friends over too.  They don’t like Iris and she doesnt like them, so it’s awkward.

When Kevin surprises Ash with a ticket to the Festival of the Dead, she says she can’t go since she has to watch Luke.  Kevin and his friends are irritated and try to pressure her to leave. So good friend Iris agrees to watch Luke so the other five take off.

To avoid waiting in line, they drive in the staff entrance. Kevin hits someone and crashes the car. Instead of focusing on who he hit or his injured friends, he tries to pressure Ash into saying she was driving.  He doesn’t want to impact his college acceptance or potential football career.  Oh Ash, why are you dating this guy?

As one friend is too injured to walk, Ash, Kevin and his brother head to the festival to get help. When they find the first aid station is empty, they wander through the crowd looking for someone working there. But instead they discover the dead have come back to life. So they lock themselves in the first aid station to try to survive the night.

I’m not sure why so many movies make most of their characters such unlikeable jerks. As soon as Kevin and the others show up at Ash’s, you can tell they’re horrible people. Do they even like each other? Everyone is treating Ash like she’s a loser. When the crisis hits, Ash is surprised and dismayed they are only concerned with themselves.  But it’s obvious that’s who we’re dealing with from the start.  

There are many things that bother me about this movie, one being when they crash the car, they never try to start it or even put it into gear. Another is no one looks for the person they hit to see if they’re alive. Granted it was a zombie, but they thought it was a person.