I watched this one despite its weak rating because I really liked Julie Benz and Fionnula Flanagan in "Defiance". But even they couldn't haul this one over the finish line. What's so sad is that there was real potential here, given the historical connection the writers were going for. The matriarch of the clan is presumably descended from the infamous H. H. Holmes (actually named Herman Webster Mudgett) whose murderous exploits are usually connected to his "castle" in Chicago in myth and lore (though the murder that sent him to the rope had nothing to do with the castle and took place in Philadelphia). Given the bizarre stories surrounding Holmes, there was almost limitless potential in a story inspired by his life. Instead, we find ourselves caught midway between Halloween and House of 1000 Corpses, dialed down for a mainstream audience.
The entire synopsis of Havenhurst could be summed up as "Almost, but not quite". Character development was sacrificed on the altar of interminable, plodding setup of ... interminable plodding conclusion that employs the same devices as every other slasher flick, but with less of the gratuitous gore that usually comes with the genre. And that's a shame, because there was real potential in these characters. Benz seemed to be reprising her role in Defiance, but lacked the grim determination (and pragmatism) of her character there. Flanagan was as despicable and loathsome as you'd expect, but was handicapped by dialogue that read like daytime TV and a script that had her filling in the blanks so you had some idea what you were seeing. The kid could have been a multi-layered composite, but all that was lost in trying for the "surprise" ending that surprised nobody. Even the detective that spent most of the film investigating the place (off the books, but on the clock of course) phones it in when he arrives on scene for the second time with a whole precinct in tow, takes a quick tour, doesn't even bother questioning the suspect and then leaves quietly despite being told not half an hour before that "there's a secret room in the basement with all the evidence you need". And apparently there was no budget for extras either, because despite being in a building with a minimum of 11 floors, with multiple rooms on each, in the largest city in the country we never see ANY of the residents other than the ones who are about to get killed. Granted it adds to the creep factor, but the only reason I can see for this omission is that it saves them having to explain why nobody has reported the bloodcurdling screams at all hours of the day and night before now.
All in all, a great concept that failed in its execution.
The entire synopsis of Havenhurst could be summed up as "Almost, but not quite". Character development was sacrificed on the altar of interminable, plodding setup of ... interminable plodding conclusion that employs the same devices as every other slasher flick, but with less of the gratuitous gore that usually comes with the genre. And that's a shame, because there was real potential in these characters. Benz seemed to be reprising her role in Defiance, but lacked the grim determination (and pragmatism) of her character there. Flanagan was as despicable and loathsome as you'd expect, but was handicapped by dialogue that read like daytime TV and a script that had her filling in the blanks so you had some idea what you were seeing. The kid could have been a multi-layered composite, but all that was lost in trying for the "surprise" ending that surprised nobody. Even the detective that spent most of the film investigating the place (off the books, but on the clock of course) phones it in when he arrives on scene for the second time with a whole precinct in tow, takes a quick tour, doesn't even bother questioning the suspect and then leaves quietly despite being told not half an hour before that "there's a secret room in the basement with all the evidence you need". And apparently there was no budget for extras either, because despite being in a building with a minimum of 11 floors, with multiple rooms on each, in the largest city in the country we never see ANY of the residents other than the ones who are about to get killed. Granted it adds to the creep factor, but the only reason I can see for this omission is that it saves them having to explain why nobody has reported the bloodcurdling screams at all hours of the day and night before now.
All in all, a great concept that failed in its execution.