X
- 2014
- R
- IFC Midnight
- 1 h 26 m
- 2014
- R
- IFC Midnight
- 1 h 26 m
Summary An introverted teen sparks with his new neighbor, and together the couple begins to explore the haunted house that is family has unknowingly just purchased.
Directed By: Mac Carter
Written By: Andrew Barrer
- 2014
- R
- IFC Midnight
- 1 h 26 m
- 2014
- R
- IFC Midnight
- 1 h 26 m
Haunt
33
4.9
Where to Watch
Summary An introverted teen sparks with his new neighbor, and together the couple begins to explore the haunted house that is family has unknowingly just purchased.
Directed By: Mac Carter
Written By: Andrew Barrer
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Unfavorable
Based on 12 Critic Reviews
33
0% Positive
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
42% Mixed
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
58% Negative
7 Reviews
7 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Unfavorable
Based on 12 Critic Reviews
33
0% Positive
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
42% Mixed
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
58% Negative
7 Reviews
7 Reviews
The shocks are short and sharp, the acting is strongest where it counts, and the director of photography, Adam Marsden, washes everything in a swampy green that makes spooks pop.
Following on the coattails of “The Conjuring” and “Insidious,” Haunt is a classical haunted-house thriller with perhaps little that’s out of the ordinary for the genre, but occasionally inventive execution.
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 17 User Ratings
4.9
41% Positive
7 Ratings
7 Ratings
12% Mixed
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
47% Negative
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 17 User Ratings
4.9
41% Positive
7 Ratings
7 Ratings
12% Mixed
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
47% Negative
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
Beautifully Shot, but could have been scarier...
I actually liked this story a lot. Loved the characters, the situation, the plot and definitely the cinematography. The two lead kids were very convincing and very likable. You rooted for them the whole time. My only complaint is that there could have been a lot more jump out of your seat scary tactics they should have used to add more horror. The setting was perfect as a cold old house somewhere in Canada most likely. Very isolated and creepy while also being very picturesque and beautiful. Everything that was done in the movie was done well, lots of good production value. Direction and acting was very convincing by all the characters. The scary old box they find looks really vintage and perfect for what it is supposed to be. I just wish the movie was scarier.
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Haunt is a very simple ghost story with a bit of romance involved, and it's a very bleak story at that. It's more of a traditional horror movie in spirit of The Innocents or The Haunting in that it's not really a visceral roller-coaster of a movie. This is a slow-burner, taking its time until the shocking and dark ending. There are a couple of cheap jump scares to keep the modern audiences interested, but this film is all about the bleak atmosphere. The whole film has a tone of dread that is left lingering long after the movie is over. Harrison Gilbertson and Liana Liberato are fantastic in their rolls as two teenagers exploring love for the first time while being pursued by some pissed off ghosts, and I'd love to see them in more movies. While nothing in this movie is particularly new, Haunt is still a fun and slow haunted house movie while never being boring or pretentious
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The frustration here comes from the filmmakers' inability to present characters with dimension, so that we might come to identify with them and their fears.
Mac Carter repeatedly compromises his intuitive, and often elegantly framed, glances at his main characters' teenage blues by too busily going through amateur-night gesticulations of spooking his audience.
Too often, Carter sacrifices characterization for one more flickery effect or carefully composed shot of moody elegance, then overdoes unlighted interiors to an almost absurd degree.
Haunt winds up being memorable only for its absence of subtlety or surprise.
"Haunt" has its own style which makes it unique, despite, it is cliched, short on story, and overall short on scares, and when they often happen, they are not enough. The story is scattered everywhere, with unnecessary characters just to move on with the story. The twist at the end does not explain its self at all, it is just like the creators of "Haunt" wanted to make a unique ghost story by just adding a curvy ending to the film. The acting is forced, and isn't appealing, the ending shutters the mind of the viewer and is incomplete and not enough to conclude. "Haunt" really doesn't have anything to it, you can just pop your popcorn call your friends, on a friday night with the lights out. You will forget about it once you finish it, if you do finish it.
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