House Hunting and a Supernatural Battle Royale: A Movie Review

*a screener of this film was provided by Phase 4 Films.

Director/writer: Eric Hurt.

Cast: Marc Singer, Art LaFleur and Hayley DuMond

Tagline: "The American Nightmare."

Phase 4 Films has released Eric Hurt's first film, House Hunting, on video-on-demand as of Februarty 1st. This is a small indie film starring Marc Singer that was completed in 2011. "The American Nightmare" is a great tagline for this film as two families are forced to do battle in order to survive a type of supernatural Venus Flytrap. All roads lead back to a haunted house and House Hunting is one indie horror film that you will want to seek out despite a circular storyline.

Two families enter the real estate market and both groups are looking for a house away from urban strife. Their return to nature is directed by a mysterious man wearing a strange hunting cap. He sends them up the road of lost hope and broken dreams. Now, much of the film takes place at this isolated two-story where only one family can leave alive. The ghosts haunting the house demand some blood sacrifice before releasing its curse. Let the bodies hit the floor.

Marc Singer (Beastmaster) plays Charlie, a devoted father. He wants to buy a new house to bring his family together. Instead of good times and family unity, he finds a house that he foreclosed on as a banker. Arguably, Charlie is the protagonist, but in the final scenes he fights for position as top villain. It is hard to be the hero when you are taking a hatchet to unarmed victims. As well, Art LaFleur (The Rig) plays the other father and he does his best to protect his family. However, his wife is a borderline personality of some sort and his son is a murderer and rapist. Maybe he should have let the ghosts take them. There are a few other characters including a mute girl; yet, this film seems to be a test of wills between all of them and the supernatural force lingering in the house. And that force likes to show itself in bloody visions or murderous flashbacks.

This reviewer liked this film a lot. Hurt used some interesting directing techniques in this film including rotating the camera to disorient. The score from Jaysen Lewis is one of the best this film fan has heard this year. As well, the acting is great especially from Singer and there is tension in almost every scene. This film could very easily be compared to Groundhog Day (1993) with ghosts. The only drawback to this film is the use of a circular or cyclical storyline where the first scene becomes the last and the cycle repeats again. The film does not make a great argument about the supernatural force's motivations or whether the characters were deserving of their fate. A more sound flowing plotline from one point to the next could have created more conflict and a more satisfying message.

House Hunting is definitely a film that you will want to see. There are a lot of great elements within. This critic's attention drifted slightly because some of the formula of past indie films could be seen here quickly, but this was still an enjoyable film. So order yourself some murder and expect some compelling action from some competent filmmakers who just want to make you scream!

Overall: 7.5 out of 10 (good writing, what was the message?, good acting, great score, chilling).

More plot details on this film are available at Phase 4 Films:

House Hunting at Phase 4 Films


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