Day 31: House of Fears

House of Fears

Tears for House of Fears

I don't think I've ever been to a house of horrors or a funhouse. I've seen them on TV and in movies plenty, but never in real life. It just never appealed to me to have a guy in funny clothes jump out at me. I could go into the city to have that happen and I'm free to take a swing at them. While I may have little interest in going to one of these places in real life, when they're in a horror movie, I'm willing to take a look.

House of Fears follows teenager Samantha, her step-sister Hailey and 4 other teens wandering a Halloween funhouse called, you guessed it, the House of Fears. While exploring, they all reveal their personal fears. Soon, each of their fears comes to life and they start dying one by one. It is revealed that an ancient African statue is the cause. The embodiment of their fears seemingly cannot be stopped. How can you conquer your fears if your fear can never die?

Funny how, I mean funny like I'm a clown, I amuse you?

House of Fears is your typical supernatural teen slasher movie. Running through a maze of corridors, things jumping out at you, you know. The usual. You've seen one, you've seen them all. The important part, though, is that you are still entertained. House of Fears still managed to have some entertainment value to it, despite being a bit cliched. The house of horror setting is definitely different and the constant change of scenery kept me interested. I do give them credit for having both physical fears (clowns, scarecrows) and more psychological fears (being buried alive, suffocating). The problem with that is the physical, chasing-you-down fears are far more exciting than a room filling with sand. To some, the latter is far more terrifying, but in terms of viewing enjoyment, the physical fears win. One thing that bothered me was that one of the fears was “being stabbed.” I was hoping to see a giant knife with eyes chasing people down, but the stabbing happened off-screen.

The acting is fine, but certainly nothing great. The look and budget of the movie is better than your average direct-to-dvd fair, but doesn't beg to be released in theaters. The underlying story of step-sisters coming to terms with each other and all that feels a bit forced, especially because these girls are clearly not teenagers. Some good violence and decent blood keep you watching and the changing embodiment of fears will have you guessing what will happen next.

Hey Ladies. My fear is "this" big

Ultimately, House of Fears comes off as a movie you've seen before with some different details and scenery. The movie has it's moments with some creative scenes and kills. Overall, the movie did not particularly offend or annoy, so that's a positive. If you enjoy chase-down slashers with some of the supernatural thrown in, you might enjoy this. If you're looking for something special, though, House of Fears is not your movie.

6/10