Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		5.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.5

Haunt Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf October 25, 2020

The screenwriters of “A Quiet Place,” Scott Beck and Bryan Woods hope to preserve their directorial careers with “Haunt,” which continues their fascination with scary business, this time using the rise of the “extreme haunt” business to create their own Halloween offering. It’s a tempting setting, providing an atmosphere of aggression and confusion, but Beck and Woods don’t pull out all the stops with their fright film, throttling “Haunt” with crude attempts at characterization and motivation, trying to fashion a substantial lead character when the picture really needs more madness. The feature deals mainly with formula, but the helmers don’t choose to combat predictability, delivering a “Saw”-like jaunt into the business of evil, serving up six young things for the slaughter. Your patience is required.

It’s Halloween night, and Harper (Katie Stevens) isn’t interested in going out, trying to hide evidence of physical abuse left by her boyfriend, Sam (Samuel Hunt), an alcoholic. Roommate Bailey (Lauryn Alisa McClain) is urging her pal to have some fun, eventually persuading Harper to join her at a club, meeting up with Mallory (Schuyler Helford) and Angela (Shazi Raja). Bumping into Nathan (Will Brittain), Harper meets a nice guy, and one who wants to do something special for the holiday, joined by his buddy, Evan (Andrew Caldwell), who piles the gang into his car for a trip to an extreme haunted house, located in the middle of nowhere. As the only customers for the evening, the team enters the house with hopes for a memorable night of scares. However, the masked staff of the event has something more in mind for the newcomers, organizing an evening of death, picking off the twentysomethings one-by-one, while Harper is forced to deal with childhood trauma, reunited with absolute terror.

Harper is the glue that’s meant to hold “Haunt” together. She’s the only dimensional character in the picture and to get her there, Woods and Beck go to an uneasy place to make sure there’s somebody to root for in the story. Harper is currently struggling with abuse, trying to hide a black eye from Bailey, who knows exactly what’s going on but doesn’t directly influence her pal. Harper also returns repeatedly to her ruined childhood, talking the audience through flashbacks of her violent father attacking her mother, laying the foundation for horrible life choices to come. It’s not much, but it’s something, and “Haunt” needs all the something it can find, with the writing trying to stuff in some cycle of abuse motivation to best empower Harper for future revenge plans. While it’s somewhat gross that a junky B-movie would turn to real-world pain to gas up the production, it quickly becomes apparent that Beck and Woods have little else to offer, soon turning their attention to the particulars of the house.

“Haunt” takes some time to arrive at its titular destination, located in the middle of nowhere, raising the first red flag as the gang finally finds it, ready to sample everything inside. There are masked men running the establishment, including one out front who demands the visitors sign a liability wavier before they can enter, with physical violence guaranteed. Red flag #2. What’s actually inside is a maze, with Harper and the bunch working their way through dark rooms and tight spaces, encountering real spiders and ominous arrows helping to guide customers in the right direction. The haunts are amusing, as Beck and Woods try to summon a few visceral highlights, dealing with creepy crawlies and claustrophobic challenges, including the navigation of tiny crawlspaces. Sadly, sensorial pressure is quickly discontinued, with more masked goons (their faces are covered for a reason) taking over the fear factor of “Haunt,” soon rising up to murder the kids, with one character receiving multiple blade cuts on their arm, while another takes a hot poker to the head. It’s not inventive, but for those with minimal expectations for seasonal spookery, Beck and Woods keep things gory enough to pass.

Haunt Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (2.39:1 aspect ratio) presentation deals with a very dark feature, as "Haunt" primarily takes place at night and inside the haunted house. Lighting is important, offering colorful washes of blue and red as the nightmare commences, while brighter industrial yellows are offered as well. Costuming also brings out excellent primaries, enjoying the hues of the holiday. Delineation remains satisfactory. Detail handles facial surfaces excellently, capturing the rough textures of bodily harm and body modification. Masks retain their artificial crudeness. House rooms are dimensional, with crisp decoration to study.

Haunt Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA mix is more atmospheric than aggressive, leading with clear dialogue exchanges, which deal well with surges of panic, never slipping into distortive extremes. Scoring supports comfortably, presented with exact instrumentation and respectful position. Louder soundtrack selections offer a heavier dance beats, filling the surrounds. Atmospherics are inviting, capturing room tone and group activity, with a few separation effects. Periodically, sound effects will be prioritized over dialogue (or agonized screaming), but this appears to be intentional.

Haunt Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• CD Soundtrack is included.

• "Haunt" mask pins (six in total), a replica haunted house flyer, four theatrical mini-posters, and a blueprint of the haunted house are included in the 2-disc set.

• Intro (1:13, HD) is hosted by directors Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, who share their gratitude for the "Haunt" fan base, thanking them for purchasing the Blu-ray.

• Commentary #1 features actors Justin Marxen, Chaney Morrow, and Damian Maffei.

• Commentary #2 features directors Beck and Woods.

• Deleted Scenes (13:01, HD) present excised comedy beats, character business, villain interactions, a monologue, and an outtake involving a runaway red truck. Introductions are provided by directors Beck and Woods.

• "The Making of 'Haunt'" (32:33, HD) travels to Moline, Illinois, where Beck and Woods visit the Factory of Fear haunt to share the origin story of their movie. Interviews include actors Katie Stevens, Lauryn Alisa McClain, Andrew Lewis Caldwell, Will Brittain, Schuyler Helford, Justin Marxen, and Chaney Morrow, prosthetics designer Chris Bridges, and co-composer Andy Milburn. Topics include characterization, thematic reach, villain design, haunt construction (inside a Kentucky dairy factory), cast interactions, performance choices, and musical moods. A loving tribute to the directors is included as well. Unfortunately, a lack of BTS footage prevents this from being an immersive understanding of production achievements, more reliant on talking heads.

• Q&A (25:30, HD) is a September, 2019 event at the Egyptian Theater in Los Angeles, featuring producer Eli Roth and directors Beck and Woods.

• Q&A (21:37, HD) is an August, 2019 event at the Popcorn Frights Film Festival in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, featuring directors Beck and Woods, and actors Lauryn McClain, Justin Marxen, and Chaney Morrow.

• "Directors' Diary" (10:23, HD) collects social media footage from Beck and Woods as they try to document the creation of "Haunt." Only small snippets of video are found here, following the gang as they scout locations, set up the production office, tour sets, test cameras, and commence the shoot.

• "The Sound of 'Haunt'" (3:52, HD) sits down with Mac Smith at Skywalker Sound to examine his job and his time on the picture. Smith shares his own haunt experiences, giving him precise inspiration, and he highlights his favorite scenes.

• "The Sleepover" (6:32, SD) is an early horror short from Beck and Woods, made when they were in the seventh grade.

• "Behind the 'Haunt'" (4:57, HD) is another interview with Beck and Woods, only this one is conducted on-set, with the pair speeding through the development of the film.

• And a Theatrical Trailer (1:44, HD) is included.

Haunt Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Suspense isn't effective in "Haunt," which returns repeatedly to shots of characters walking slowly through booby trapped rooms, trying to find a way out. The writing doesn't crank up terrifying encounters, instead portioning them out carefully, and there's Harper and her clouded mind to deal with, adding more pit stops to what should be snowballing nightmare. There's little excitement to "Haunt," which delivers a routine threat and setting, ignoring the possibilities of extreme haunt mayhem, only saving the good stuff for select moments of shock value. Beck and Woods crave atmosphere, but what they really need is to make a proper genre mess.