The Dead Room

After I finished this one I started going over in my head what I was going to write about it. I wanted to just say, "Pretty boring. If you just watched the last 20 minutes or so of the film, that's all you would need." Then I started thinking about it more, and I feel that I need to say more than that. It wasn't that the beginning was slow, and you did need it to build up the tension, but when I really thought about it, it was because of the actors. They almost seemed bored to be there, and there wasn't a lot of sharing who they were with each other, so I didn't really care about them. There was also the fact that all three of them went to sleep at night. I don't watch the ghost busting shows on TV, but I would think at least one person would stay awake to monitor the equipment. It wasn't until a couple nights in that they set an alarm for 15 minutes before the activity would begin. When you finally get to the last 20 minutes, lots of action takes place with furniture flying around the room, and the actors running around in terror. But even with this, it was just ho-hum. After they got to the meat of the movie, I was left with so many questions. Why was 3am the time everything happened. Why was the person doing what they did. And a couple of more, but I don't want to spoil anything if you decide to watch it.

I'm giving it a solid 7 - if I were to randomly pick out a movie on Netflix at random, I'd expect this amount of entertainment. Oh sure, it's not 100% original and there is a lot of "Paranormal Activity"- esqe elements, but what do you expect? If you make the monster visible, then it's probably cheesy looking. If it's invisible, then you don't know and you usually assume the worst. I personally pictured Vigo the Carpathian when he was walking through the halls hitting his head on the lights and that gave me some nice creepy vibes, making the movie better. I enjoyed how there was a quasi-logical explanation for why he didn't kill/hurt them in early in the movie - it salvaged some of the obvious questions I had. There could have been a bit more to the storyline, background and possibly more shots of the beautiful surrounding area, but it was 118 mins that was better than plenty of other 118 min movies. I'd be down for a sequel: they wake up in a mental hospital and everyone thinks they're crazy, but they find a film that shows what happens when they were captured/unconscious... just a rough start :P

I knew nothing about "The Dead Room" prior to finding it. And when I came across it, I was instantly intrigued by the movie cover. So after having read the synopsis, I did indeed decide that this was a movie that I had to watch, especially with my love for the horror genre. And now with the movie finished and watched, I must admit that "The Dead Room" turned out to be a really nice surprise of a movie. I hadn't really expected much of anything, so I was more than pleasantly surprised with the outcome of director Jason Stutter's movie. There was a really good atmosphere to be found in the movie, and that atmosphere was really permeating throughout the entire movie, adding a solid foundation for the story to grow on. And it was also especially nice to have the movie start out instantly and throwing the audience into the action from the very beginning. "The Dead Room" is not the type of movie that uses an hour or so to establish the mood and with very little happening in that time. No, "The Dead Room" kicks off in a high gear from the very start and you have no doubt about what is going on. The effects, while sparse, were actually serving the movie quite well. Again, lots of great use of the atmospheric influences, such as footsteps, banging, opening and closing doors, and the like. Everything a ghost movie needs, you will find it here. "The Dead Room" has a very little ensemble of performing actors and actresses, so there was a bit more pressure on the performances of these few people. But fear not, Jed Brophy (playing Liam), Jeffrey Thomas (playing Scott) and Laura Petersen (playing Holly) really performed quite well, and they were very committed to their roles. These were, for me at least, three entirely new faces, so it was nice to see someone new for a change. This is definitely a horror movie that you should take the time to sit down and watch, because it is a surprisingly good movie. And it is rare to find a horror movie that starts out as intense and fast paced as this one did. There is a few twists and turns to the story along the way, but the major plot twist was actually quite nice, and it sat very well to my liking, and it was a great reveal once it was out in the open. I will not give anything away here, of course, because I believe that a movie should be enjoyed and experienced on your own accord. I read that some people didn't like the ending to the movie in other reviews. I, however, found it to be an adequate ending. It was generic and predictable, for sure, it it served the movie and the story well enough.

The buildup was slow, the scary parts were not scary, and the only ones who were relatively okay at acting were the two men. The female was annoying and when she would 'feel the presence' her acting was just terrible. I couldn't take any of it seriously like I would when watching a better horror film. She made me want to punch her in the face. Maybe next time they should find someone who seems like they actually went through acting school. The ending was trash. Really? Pulled her by a chain? Stupid. The whole film was a mess and not even worth it. DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME. There are plenty of other films you could be watching that are better than this one. If you like it, to each their own. I wouldn't ever recommend it or give it any more of my time ever again. Hope you like to be disappointed.

People here forget to imagine what would be like being in a supposedly haunted house. There are no zombies or ghosts jumping after 5 minutes of the movie, or CGI everywhere.. and I'm glad. Slow pacing, brilliant light & shadow photography. What can I say? It left me wanting more. Characters are uncomfortable near each other and so they should, since they don't know each other very well anyway. The end could be extended and reworked a little better, but all in all, until the final ending, it is a thrilling experience from start to finish, one of the best suspense/horror spirit movies i saw this year. Don't let the low grade keep you from watching it. If you like ghost movies, slow paced suspense with a somewhat real touch to happenings, this is a must.

Every once in a while a movie is so lame that I feel compelled to warn others. This is one of those movies. I don't know if this review will actually have spoilers because there isn't much to spoil. A group of paranormal investigators heads to a rundown farmhouse to investigate mysterious happenings that caused a family to flee. We never get any real backstory on what happened with this family, but it was scary enough that they left their pet birds unattended. Absolutely nothing happens for the first 45 minutes. We stare at a hallway for most of it and occasionally the front door opens or something thumps. Cheap jolts are attempted by quick scene jumps to something unexpectedly loud but harmless like the generator starting up or supernaturally noisy wildlife outside. I'm not sure if the acting is terrible or there is just no good way to deliver the stilted dialogue provided. ("Did you open the front door?" (nervous look) "No. I didn't") The end result is the same. I spent a good deal of this time thinking that the house could be really cute if the Fixer Upper team got a chance to clean it up. The last act resorts to your standard cables pulling people around the room and an evil entity that died in a morbid way that is never fully explained. We never even get the payoff of actually seeing the bad guy in his entirety, I am guessing for budget reasons. I am a fan of this genre when it is done well, but this was very disappointing.

This is the third good film I've seen from New Zealand in the past year, and I was surprised to see it having such a low overall rating. "The Dead Room" is absolutely worth your time, and worthy of a much higher rating. Laura Petersen does some incredibly good acting in this film, and it's surprising she's never had bigger roles. The other two actors do a very good job as well. The straight-up suspense horror in "The Dead Room" is truly excellent. This is a truly great horror film; something even a horror great like Wes Craven would be proud of, even if it's not in his "roary-gory" style. It's not what you'd expect from the description either, and it's a wonderful film. It throws-out all of those dumb clichés from haunted house films and does something quite refreshing and original with the idea. There are several things I love about this film. First, the use of characters & proper writing. In so many horror films, we get the displeasure of having to "get to know" the characters, and there's often a bit of sexual tension between one or more of them. In "The Dead Room" we are simply given three characters who are all quite different, but otherwise we know very little about them. They're investigating a haunted house as paid, professional ghost hunters, and that's all we know. The rest we gather about the characters is assumed from their actions. Secondly I loved the cinematography. It is superb. You'd expect a lot of "found footage" type camera-work from a film about three ghost hunters, but you won't find any in "The Dead Room". The camera was used to great effect in this film, and the crew gets my full applause for that. Another thing worth mentioning is the use of atmosphere over CGI, effects, or makeup. There are no special effects used in this film aside from some tasteful ones which are only used for creating some subtle visuals. The house is the main character of this story, and it's a wonderful actor. Instead of a "big" soundtrack with lots of suspenseful music, the sounds of this rickety old country home provide the audio, and it works to great effect. Finally, on the subject of actors--or rather actresses--Laura Petersen is just awesome in this film. She hasn't had many other roles, but you'd never know that. Her acting here is just as excellent as some of the best girls of Hollywood. Lauren is a totally believable actress for her character, and the one the audience will sympathize with the most. I admit to being a bit biased in this respect; I just loved her character and think she's absolutely, positively beautiful! However in all honesty, I really do not feel my love for her beauty clouds my judgement of the quality of her acting. She is superb, period. I watch a LOT of films. Horror is one of my favorite genres, but it's sadly dying at the hands of a great many bad producers, directors, actors, and so on. I'm so happy to say that "The Dead Room" is a true breath of fresh air. I haven't liked a newer horror movie this much since "The Babadook" (which was amazing). While "The Dead Zone" MAY not scare the pants off of you like "The Babadook" did with me, it's still 100% on-par with that level of great acting, direction, and cinematography. Lauren Petersen, as I've said, does an excellent job as our sort-of main character, and her character is an excellent centerpiece in this film. If you want something scary to watch tonight, see "The Dead Room". You will not be disappointed with this one!

"I would love to capture something conclusive.. To prove the existence of the paranormal. Yeah, well, just be careful what you wish for." If it was the intention to show how boring the study of paranormal phenomena is, you can safely say that "The Dead room" is a successful film. You never watched a horror before? Well, this is the right movie to start with then. Nothing happens in it so to speak. And when something happens (exactly at 3 o'clock in the middle of the night) it certainly won't scare you to death. You could call it Horror for dummies. Ghosthunting isn't really a fascinating profession. You can compare it a bit with a birdwatcher. You're sitting on your strategic spot and wait until you can observe something. Waiting is the message. Waiting as in the waiting room of the doctor. Fortunately, the entity that runs amok in this New Zealand cottage, owns a well-functioning watch. So it makes an appearance punctually. When a family pack their bags and leave because there are unexplained phenomena occurring in their home, three researchers arrive to sort it out in a scientific way on behalf of the insurance company. To be honest, I would be terrified if they would force me to live in this dilapidated hovel. The team of would-be Ghostbusters consists of Scott (Jeffrey Thomas), Liam (Jed Brophy) and Holly (Laura Petersen). Scott is a vexing cynic who wants to explain everything scientifically. When inexplicable facts happen, it's always the wind, according to him. A door opens and chandeliers sway back and forth ... probably a gap in the wall which causes a draft. The house shakes on its foundation ... probably a gust of wind. Furniture moving ... yep that damn wind again. Liam is the tech geek who ecstatically places his motion-detecting cameras and infrared sensors everywhere. However, he's the first one who wants to leave the place as soon as possible. And Corry is a psychic who feels the presence of supernatural abnormalities. It's also handy to have her around since she's a kind of living thermometer. The horror "Paranormal Activity" was a huge success. You can hardly deny that. Personally, I didn't think it was that big of a deal and therefore I've avoided the successors (I'm not a big fan of commercial exploitation). The most annoying side effect are the countless imitations that make use of this success but lack substance. Most of them simply suck. The same applies to "The Dead Room". The first hour looks reasonable. Even though there's not much going on and you have to be patient and wait just like our three researchers. The only things you can witness in the beginning are the way they install themselves, how they go through room after room in search of ghosts and make small talk. The moment things start to happen, you'll be treated to the well-known phenomena such as moving furniture, slamming doors and swinging chandeliers. The use of such dull phenomena doesn't guarantee a successful paranormal horror however. The denouement was substandard and downright ridiculous. The mood changed completely and this "Paranormal Activity" clone transformed into a third-rate horror. The denouement came so unexpectedly and took me completely by surprise. It felt as if they made it up at the last moment. All I could mumble was "Damn, that's it?". However, all praises for those three daredevils because although there were some life-threatening and quite frightening situations, they still went to bed hassle free and willingly. As if nothing was going on. Probably they've accepted that it really was the wind that caused it all. Honestly, reality shows shown on television are more frightening to me than this bland movie. More reviews here : http://bit.ly/1KIdQMT

This flick contains so much bad filmmaking that it's pretty hilarious, so overall not entirely unenjoyable! It's a "ghost hunter" kind of thing complete with poor dialogue/acting (especially the female lead), hilariously fake sets toward the end, continuity errors, unmotivated lighting (you know, brightly lit faces in supposedly dark areas, nice constant overhead light underground, and what has to be the brightest moonlight I've EVER seen), way, way overdone color processing and fake vignette, and to top it off a nonsensical ending that brings zero closure to the whole farce. We giggled and rolled our eyes throughout the film with my partner. I'm giving it a generous four stars, since it's the fun kind of bad, rather than annoying.

Indeed, was a good movie with great moments of scary and more mystery but why to made a movie and you mess it up with such a stupid final? Why are more movies made just for the sake of making a film and mobbish the end? These filmmakers are not able to find a logical end or mock us for their proper satisfaction? In this days all are SMART.Smartphones, smart-TV, overall smart-devices. But the end of many movies are SILLY AND BRAINLESS! Movies like Honeymoon, 400 Days, Deep Dark, The Forest, Crimson Peak, Before We Go, Z for Zachariah, The Curse of Downers Grove, The Pyramid, Oculus, The Last Days on Mars...and more...these movies have a miserable final and now this Dead Room... Take lessons from how well it ends I Origins or Devil's Pass(The Dyatlov Pass Incident) or Predestination! This is shameful and derision for us, those who want to see a good movie WITH A GOOD,LOGICAL AND CLEVER END!!!