The Houses October Built (2014)
Written By: Grave Reviews Staff
The Houses October Built helps Haunted Houses
Film Information
Director: Bobby Roe
Producer: Zack Andrews, Steven Schneider
Screenwriter: Zack Andrews, Bobby Roe, Jason Zada
Date Released: October 10, 2014
Cast:
Brandy Schaefer as Brandy
Zack Andrews as Zack
Bobby Roe as Bobby
Mikey Roe as Mikey
Jeff Larson as Jeff
Chloë-Charlotte Alexandra Crampton as Porcelain
Angelica Leigh Van Horn as Porcelain
Rating = 3.5/5 Graves
***May contain some spoilers***
Synopsis
The Houses October Built is about five friends who travel across the country to find the scariest haunted house. Tired of the same cheap scares, the travelers embark on their journey in an RV to find the most authentic, scariest haunted house. Although it seems as if their journey is unsuccessful, strange things start happening and the group soon experiences some events that will be the haunt of their lives.
Gore Factor
There is no blood or gore in this film. There, are however, some eerie scenes when the group of friends enter into various haunted houses.
The Grave Review
The Houses October Built is a found footage style film that takes the haunted attraction industry and turns in into real-life fear. As the film had noted, haunted attractions are trying harder each year to make the attractions more unique, scary and extreme. But the question which was posed many times in the film was, how far is too far? The story follows a group of friends who encounter various haunt actors/actresses who eventually stalk them. But, that may seem unfair since the group technically followed the stalkers instructions to receive this extreme haunt experience. Certainly, the Grave Team has experienced some intense haunts like Blackout and The Awakening in New York City, but, everyone has their limits. Oddly, some of these haunts are so intense, the production crew practically vanishes from existence the next year. No, we are not kidding. Perhaps legal trouble?
From an entertainment standpoint, The Houses October Built is a fun film. The story is unique and manages to stay interesting throughout the film. However, like all found footages films, the acting is always hit or miss. Fortunately, the acting felt genuine and smooth for the most part. There are however, some other scenes which felt less believable.
The highlight of this film came from the fact that many haunted attractions were given notoriety and each attraction was given some time to display some of their attraction. The film even created a real map of the scariest haunted houses in the country. Some of the haunts that the group travels to include but are not limited to 1) Rise Haunted House in Hammond, Louisiana, 2) The Haunt House in Caddo Mills, Texas and 3) Zombie Manor in Arlington, Texas.
A list of all the haunts are listed within the map as below:
There are certain movies that have an interesting plot but never get the notoriety that they deserve. “The Houses October Built” is one of those low-budget films that directs a cult following, similar to movies such as Cloverfield or the Blair Witch Project. As a Halloween enthusiast, one could appreciate the concept as a whole.
For the foregoing reasons, Grave Reviews gives The Houses October Built (2014) three and a half graves out of five graves.
The end of the first film concludes where the travelers are buried alive. The Houses October Built 2 continues the story of these travelers which takes place one year after the group survived these traumatic events. As part of dealing with their post-traumatic disorder, they continue on the journey they first began to conclude that chapter in their lives. However, what they thought ended their nightmare, may soon continue. It should be noted that you should watch the first film in order to understand the starting point of the second film.
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