By skyforbes Everything is so banal and predictable. The film has its share of dull moments; apparently, the writers aren't particularly bright when it comes to adequately describing the characters' actions. It seems okay at first, but then they screw it up.
Abusive ex (which so conveniently related to her trauma) is foreshadowed to be the bad guy.
After the party in the alley this creepy tall figure is stalking her. (I assumed this was boyfriend). Plot twist it’s some random dude that likes killing.
They’re followed and the only one who mentions it is Harper. Friend who cared about her and her boyfriend issues magically couldn’t care when she says “Yo pull over we’re being followed”.
All her friends are crap. Doesn’t add much to my rant but damn. They are lackluster.
They end up magically spotting a haunted house on the road they were followed on. Why were they followed if the killers knew they were going to go there? What if they decided to go to the other party instead? Where did the random girl behind plexi glass come from? Didn’t the chunky guy have a flyer from the party? Why are they presumably the second or only ones there?
The forms were handed out before they went in. Just because some yahoo gives you a form doesn’t mean you jot your real name, number, address, and apparently parents address???? I could see a waiver for a really big fancy haunted house that’s very well known and popular where there’s interactive actors but this random warehouse with one guy that says Jack squat is enough to just roll with I guess.
I wonder, what if someone had two phones with them, but gave one away and hid the other? Would that work? I don't think the clown would have a metal detector, lol.
One of the killers hiding his shoes under his cloak seemed like a setup for something more significant, but it never paid off. Like what the hell was this all about? It seemed to foreshadow some potential connection between the killer and the friends or that the shoes would be used later to identify him. Instead, we get a detail introduced with zero purpose.
The origin of the first girl branded by the witch was unclear. Did the killers just finish butchering another group of teens, or do they keep victims caged up for future events? Big questions about the continuity of the killers’ operation here.
Fast forward after they figure out it’s all real you end up questioning every single decision these people make. “Hey we got a weapon and this guy cornered. Let’s follow him he seems trustworthy”. Proceeds to split up because there’s apparently zero strength in numbers.
It's amazing how quickly the characters forgot that they could all crawl back through the tunnel together, rather than one at a time, as Mitch said.
Why didn't Evan wait for Mitch and the rest of the gang typically allowing Mitch to get a hammer and seal the tunnel.
When the clown has taken all of the phones, he chooses not to put Harper's phone in the microwave. While it could just be a coincidence, I think it is odd. Perhaps he was looking specifically for her phone.
Nathan grabs Harpers phone and texts the location to her ex? Everyone’s phones were locked why not hers? No 911? Not taking Harper's phone? Trust that Jack ass McGhee is gonna save the day without the help of the police?
Sam was totally absolutely useless and irrelevant with his irrational thinking outside of providing them a vehicle at the end. Wouldn't you call the police after getting sent help in caps and finding the location to be in the middle of no where.
He’s absent the entire movie except for when he receives an alarming text message saying HELP and a location, to which he drives to and finds a super sketchy warehouse. He then casually walks into the creepy warehouse where his Gf has just texted HELP from and decides to shout around and ask the nice looking guys in there for directions. He immediately dies, not even getting a chance to fight back, having spent about 120 seconds on screen.
The unlocked phone he had before the clown kills him would have been some sort of saving grace to the idea of this guy being there but it was just filler. It’s like the writers forgot about him and they already filmed half the movie. Oh but take the truck he drove that’s why he was a main plot point I suppose. Oh and let’s reiterate Harpers trauma. He was just a red herring. We were to assume he'd save her, but instead got killed.
It irked me to no end that Sam was written to be such a demented asshole that he left his car parked, with its door open and the keys inside, in the middle of the road because he was just so blinded by his rage and need to control Harper (read: the writers didn’t know how else to get our heroes in a car at the end).
Why the hell would this elaborate haunted house not only be made for this small group of college kids? Why would this elaborate setup include live rounds scattered all over anyway? I guess it just makes sense.
Harper takes the wounded Nathan to the hospital, and police officers and paramedics are driving towards them. Who called them?
If the police arrive at that house, I don't think there will be any investigation, since the clown set everything on fire to hide the evidence.
Conclusion: A silly, boring, forgettable film with silly characters, silly and pointless “maniacs,” silly murders of the main characters, and so on. There are no screamers, no scary moments, no gore. The plot is non-existent; remove any character from the film and it will be the same. Don't waste your time on it; there are horror films that are much better than this one. 2/10.