Weak on many levels, the slightly original spin on how characters deal with haunted houses and the good work in making the experience fairly unsettling save this film from being completely irrelevant.

Will’s (John Michael Simpson) life is plummeting down the toilet. Undecisive and unreliable by nature, he takes a definitive blow when his girlfriend Amy (Paige Evans) decides to end their relationship. Looking for a new place to stay, he settles in the house of the Sellers’ who keep one tiny irrelevant bit of information from him: the house is possessed by a demon that demands a human sacrifice!

The premise “per se” is not that unusual but what makes it worth it is the nonchalantly attitude of the people facing the spirits. This gives it a fresh take to the genre as many times in this sort of horror comedies, even if being via funny reactions or actions, the characters are usually scared of the demons or ghosts or so. Unfortunately, this twist becomes way too repetitive throughout the movie without providing many worthy jokes or laughs. It plays the usual, “where is the spirit? Here it is! Oh, come on… why won’t you leave me alone…” bit way too many times. Equally, the film basically plays out the classic clichés of movies such as Poltergeist: things flying around, pianos playing on its own, the TV or cassette talking directly to the protagonist, cabinets opening, chairs moving… even our main character acknowledges this fact once.

The movie would have thrived from giving more personality to the spirits so there is a bigger sort of playground for Will to interact with the ghosts and demon present in the house. Will is fairly developed when it comes to having quirky perks as he works a night shift as a customer service attendant for a tooth paste brand, he obsessively cooks cakes, he tries but never seems to manage to put himself to train… If all those elements had become countered more actively by some of the spirits’ particularities or actions, it would probably have provided for some funny gags.

While the comedy falls somewhat short, the horror feel of the movie actually delivers. The house is also quite traditional for the genre, the two-storey with creepy basement but still director Emily Hagins manages to make it quite uncomfortable. Although not being totally scary, as this is not the goal, it is already fine the way it is. With this element in particular, she also goes back to the recurrent hits: reflections in the mirrors, spirits hidden in closets and running through corridors, twisting heads, rituals… But, differently to the comedy bits which seem to be thrown out there just because, those actually looked to be thought through. It also helps the good work from the make-up department which gives us quite appealing and appalling (in a good way) spirits, even if once again using a traditional approach of grey skins, weird-coloured eyes, and protruding veins.

Unfortunately, the side of the story that completely crashes is the romantic one. It is noteworthy that Hagins tries to bring this into the story, as it is an element usually overlooked in the horror genre but, after watching this film, it seems to just justify the reason why that is the case. The relationship between Will and Amy is undeniably boring and it is basically the main focus point of the entire third act which irreparably damages the interest in the story. Will might be quite a lost cause, but Amy does not seem like someone worthy to fight for either. It just feels like this relationship could have just stopped at the beginning of the film and then we should have immersed ourselves on Will’s experience with the house without going back to that thread. The somniferous performance from Paige Evans does not help either.

But, precisely on this department, no ones’ acting can get truly praised. Jeff McQuitty, who plays Will’s friend Patrick, is equally sleep-inducing as Evans, Jon Michael Simpson tries way too hard in being either funny or emotional, and the Sellers’ family as a whole, which could have acted as a quite good comic relief when on screen seems way too underused but also way too plain and bland. The only person who is slightly interesting to watch is Aimee, played fairly ok by Olivia Ducayen. In fact, it would be in a way more interesting to see her story as a “teen exorcist” than the one that we get.

In summary, Emily Hagins aims to an interesting direction but misses the target. The will that she has into merging these different genres must be respected but this time it just seems to be way too all over the place. Still, even if not especially successful this time, this is an interesting try that may take us to the new realm of rom-com horror. Hopefully she will focus a bit more the story next time and she will be also supported by a better cast.