Tuesday, July 15, 2014

HOUSE OF DUST: NICE INDY HORROR FLICK

There has been a glut of horror films released over the past decade. It seems like everyone has realized that the lowest budgeted film that can be made is a horror film and that it makes for an easy entry into the world of film making. Coupled with a legion of horror fans who have adored so many films they want to emulate and you find an overabundance of horror movies coming out, most of them bad. So it's nice to see one every once in a while that might not have a big name starring in it and might use bits and pieces of other movies but that entertains at the same time. Movies like HOUSE OF DUST.

The movie focuses on a group of college students beginning a their year. New to the group is Emma, a young girl with some serious issues relating to her mental stability. Shy and withdrawn, Emma is egged on by her roommate Gabby to join in at the party some students are having that first night there. Gabby's boyfriend Dylan is on hand as well as his roommate, Kolt. Emma has caught Kolt's eye and he attempts to win her trust that night.

The group heads back to the dorm from the party and while walking across campus they go past a building covered in ivy and sealed to all students. The abandoned building was once and asylum that housed numerous patients including one notorious serial killer. While these students don't know it, in the opening sequence of the film we witnessed him killing some of the staff as well as his incineration in the oven in the basement. Seeing a building like this how can you expect kids not to try and break in? They do so, eventually finding the oven and accidentally knocking over a container of ashes. Guess whose ashes they were? Suddenly things begin to happen the kids.

Emma begins seeing things and worries that it is her mental problems come back to plague her. Students start to turn up murdered or missing. Kolt begins to change his behavior, becoming more anti-social and violent. With each passing day the hold that the spirit of the serial killer begins to take hold. Whether the kids in the film will survive or not is a toss up until the end. What's really nice here is that rather than do what's become far too typical in most horror films, leaving it open ended for a possible sequel, this one actually does offer a closing.

The scares here are not too intense and the acting is surprisingly well done by all involved. That is not to say that it's surprising because they don't possess any talent but surprising because it's rare to find someone with actual acting ability in most low budget horror films these days. While perhaps not Oscar worthy, each and every member does a believable job here.

While the die hard horror fans out there will probably not find this movie gory enough or will feel that it's been done before, it still offers a fairly fresh take on the subject matter while at the same time not portraying the kids involved as total idiots. I don't recall any scenes that had that "look a trail of blood, let's separate and find out where the killer is" moments. Instead we get a decent story, a few chills and enough horror for the non-fan to enjoy the movie.

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