7 Nights of Darkness (2011) User Reviews

characters in the movie

[klang4678 · 5/10 · 19 September 2014]

I am a big fan of the 'found footage' genre and really appreciate the films that make you feel like you are there.

I think its hard to get a lot of character development in these type of films, so I don't usually decide if i like or dislike the characters..I look more for atmosphere with tense, suspenseful scary moments..and the feeling of it being real...no blatantly 'fake' over the top acting.

However, due to the first 30 minutes of this movie being full of useless chatter, arguing, and over acting, I was really irritated before any of the good (scary) stuff happened . ..there was a little more useless chatter here and there throughout the movie and it gave me the feeling that I couldn't stand these people and I wanted to get the hell away from them. This effected how I viewed the rest of the movie...

The movie had good atmosphere and some scary suspenseful moments, but I didn't really enjoy them due to my continued irritation and dislike of these people.

Scariest movie I have seen in awhile.

[growingupgrouchy · 5/10 · 6 October 2012]

While this movie is not original in its concept or story it still provides many decent scares. I see a lot of people criticizing the acting but I thought these people did a great job of playing everyday people who sign up for a reality show. Maybe I have not seen a lot of reality shows but it does not seem to me that you have to be a Shakespearean thespian to get on one. So the actors do a great job coming off as real people to me.

This film really does not bring anything fresh to the idea of shaky cam/ insane asylum horror stories. Many things in the movie I have seen before. However, even though many of the scares are not fresh and are predictable, the ways in which the cast and crew pull these moments off is more then satisfactory. There are many goose bump creating scares.

I have seen a lot of horror movies and grew up on horror movies. And while I am not scared after the movie I was very creeped out during the movie. If you watch this movie expecting it to be game changing and a brand new concept then you are going to be disappointed. If you are expecting this to be a movie which is non stop horror and quick pacing then you will be disappointed. This is a slow build movie that does a great job raising the fear level before leading to a memorable climax.

I gave this movie a 10 because I watched it with the intent of being scared and creeped out. And it did that successfully. Maybe it is just me but it seems horror movies now of days do not rely on scares anymore as much as they do gore. I would recommend this movie to anyone that wanted to see a movie that was actually creepy and who appreciates a good scare.

Tough to make it through the first 30 minutes

[idt2 · 3/10 · 9 January 2012]

Decent premise, really annoying beginning. I think that it must be improved in the beginning, the dialogue is so bad. One character in particular is way too annoying, I found myself wishing he would die first. The guy with the dark hair and glasses. It won't take long to figure out who I am talking about.

Like one reviewer said, way too much talking in the first parts. It's like trying to sleep when there's a party in the other room. The voices are just as annoying. Everyone trying to talk at the same time. I almost didn't make it through the first 20 minutes, or the first 5 minutes for that matter, but I stuck it out. I am a sucker for punishment. The acting is very bad. I suck, and I could do a better job. I think a fence post would have pulled it off better.

This movie had the feeling that it was done by a bunch of film students, and somehow it slipped out into the DVD market. A quick look at the credits and you'll see that I am most likely right, if you last to the credits that is, and oh don't miss the extra bit after the credits.

If you can see this for free, watch it simply for how bad it is, but don't go out of your way to see this. Like the idea, but hated the movie? Check out Grave Encounters, they pulled it off way better.

Originally I gave this movie a 4 out of 10, but looking back on it now I think I will change it to a more than generous 3.

7 Days of Darkness

[Scarecrow-88 · 5/10 · 29 June 2013]

You know the drill: several adults decide to stay in a supposedly haunted asylum for seven nights with major prize money at stake for those who remain inside the building and perform tasks left in envelopes. The first night there's excitement and the anticipation of gaining a big payday and having a little fun with each other in the process.

One among the group is a firm believer in the paranormal, even hoping for spirits, beckoning them to show up. She is alone as the others just want to follow the tasks as written without extra fanfare, hoping to get through the week relatively unscathed and safe from any possible boogeymen. But this is a found footage film that tells us right at the start that no one makes it out to win the money, so we know where this story will lead to and how it will end.

Derivative of the likes of The Blair Witch Project and the onryo Ju-on/Ringu movies, 7 Seven Nights of Darkness knows what audience it wants to please and tries hard. I reward bonus points to the effort and there were some genuine jolts I must admit. What I appreciate from a no-budget film like this is that we anticipate what will eventually happen next, and yet when it comes the heart still skips after beating a bit speedily, with a nice gasp before moving to the following build up suspense sequence. The acting is not the film's strong suit. The cast tries to emote, attempting to show unbridled, crap-in-the-pants fear, with curse words sputtering out, documented interviews explaining their worsening emotional states as the week strains by, the ghosts appearing and causing mischief more and more each night. I have to say, though, that I was often laughing my ass off, especially early when the ghostly hi-jinks shook the cynical, smug team members out of their comfort and joy, rattling that emotional cage. I was also laughing at the cast's overreactions to the events as they transpire. Sometimes the acting is a bit overwrought, and overboard. I get it. They are trying to convey the situation as it unfolds as any of us might react when ghost girls skip across a room from afar, one of the team members fall under a type of possession and never recovers, people vanish for whatever reason, noises thump and thud like precursors to a major cataclysm, and soon no escape route seems available as "they're everywhere".

Because the ability to make a movie is as easy as has ever been, and that the found footage genre allows hungry horror filmmakers the chance to live their dream, 7 Days of Darkness is possible. The ending of this film really mines Blair Witch Project (the lovely Meredith Kochan runs towards the cries of Tom Sperry, Jr, finding all the team facing the wall, eerily reminiscent to Michael in the room as Heather is following behind as both had heard Josh achingly calling out; the twist involves Meredith seeing someone as if looking in the mirror, with the moment quite surreal) and Ringu (a ghoul can be seen crawling on all fours up the stairs, not to mention, there are numerous spirits that favor Onryo girls throughout the film), so it isn't like 7 Nights of Darkness invents the wheel…far from it. Like the slasher films in the 80s, found footage has found a prime chunk of real estate in the horror market. Netflix is vast nirvana for found footage and horror fans are willing to give filmmakers a chance. So even the most average found footage (or other genre in horror for that matter) flick can provide a bit of entertainment, no matter how familiar and mediocre.

I would say there are at least three moments in 7 Nights of Darkness that might make it worth sitting through the obnoxious performances and lack of originality. The use of darkness and a bit of grain in the photography benefit the film immensely. The jolt comes from when the camera turns around as characters holding it go into panic mode spotting ghouls or figures faint but noticeable just for a second or two; this sets in your mind the distinct acceptance that the specters are among them, soon to make their presence felt. My favorite scene has one of the ghouls giggling as she photographs two of the team members sleeping; I just thought this was rather neat. This film also does a swell job of establishing that no room, no matter how locked, is safe from the intrusion of the dead. Probably the most painful aspect of the film, besides some rough-around-the-edges performances, is the seemingly improvised dialogue; it really made me cringe at times. Some of the girly screaming over ridiculous stuff (maggots on pizza, a bouncing bucket, a cabinet noise because one of the team moved it slightly) also really, really got on my nerves. I say that as a warning: to get to the good stuff, there's plenty of bad to wade through.

An average horror movie

[timothygartin · 5/10 · 2 August 2020]

This story has been done many times. It is a little different since it combines the "contest" concept with the found footage format. I liked some of the scares. They were well done.

There is a lot of screaming in this movie. I mean, a lot of screaming. I usually don't notice that too much, but this one almost got on my nerves.

Its not a bad found footage movie to watch. Its better than its sequel.

7 Nights of Darkness: Yet another terrible ghost flick

[Platypuschow · 2/10 · 25 September 2017]

After the popularity of the Paranormal Activity franchise many companies decided to cash in and make their own similar micro budget movies of the same genre. One company made 9 movies under the franchise name of Paranormal Investigations, this is one of them.

Filmed for an estimated $5000 budget this follows a group of reality TV show participants spending 7 nights in an abandoned asylum in order to win $1 million! As with every other one of the Paranormal Investigations movies I've seen it's shoddily made with very little actually happening and a whole lot of shaky camera work & senseless screaming.

To it's credit near the end 7 Nights Of Darkness does manage to get under the viewers skin a bit, but it's simply too late.

Another incredibly boring 90 minutes of lifeless ghost genre "Action"

The Good:

Couple of creepy moments near the end

The Bad:

The abandoned asylum thing has gotten really old now

Scene separators are annoying

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Mens lavatories are notoriously haunted

Buckets are scary

Threatening to sexually molest an unconscious restrained woman is totally an okay thing to do

A "Found Footage" Failure

[looneychrisjess · 4/10 · 10 January 2014]

I am a fan of "found footage" films. This one started out much the same way as others in the genre do, a groups of strangers spending the night in a haunted house. But comparatively, this film falls short of its competitors.

Unfortunately, none of the characters were likable enough to care what befalls them. Likable characters I believe is a pretty important factor in found footage films because they are the ones revealing the story to you. But in this film, their acting seemed forced and unnatural, and natural is what you're suppose to be going for in found footage films. The characters didn't even care what was happening to each other, which just compounded the viewers lack of caring about them.

The scares were too few and far between and didn't last very long. They never explain anything about the history of the house they were in, so the viewer couldn't even connect with the ghosts.

The fact that nothing is explained could work for some found footage films, but not this one because it lacked so many other things. The film seemed like someones pet project, with a slightly higher video quality.

I wouldn't see it again and I wouldn't recommend it to fans of the genre.

Worst Acting

[hqpcrepair · 1/10 · 12 January 2012]

This film has the worst acting ever in recorded history. The premise of the movie seems to be about reality TV contestants. Too bad the actors and actresses resemble nothing even close to how people in the real world act. Don't waste your time watching this one. This kind of movie has been done over and over again. It always turns out to be the same, no reality to it whatsoever, substandard scripting and really bad acting from true amateurs. There is better acting in porn than what you'll see in this one. The camera work is at times very suspicious, if you're told it's gonna be a reality show, and you see different stationary cameras all of a sudden move for better angle, then you know it's all downhill from there with reality flying out the window.

Not too bad at all

[gmcloon6 · 7/10 · 14 January 2012]

First of all I didn't find the beginning annoying it seemed pretty realistic to me,and the characters were believable enough.The acting seemed O.K.as well.I have not seen Blair Witch for a very long time,only seen it twice and only the last twenty seconds or so seemed scary to me so I have to say I think this is at least close to being as good and creeped me out a few more times.Considering the budget the effects were pretty good.I have watched a lot of really crap movies and this not really one of them.I would probably not watch it again but would watch part two or the sequel and will keep an eye out for other movies made by the same people.

tired

[riggabigg · 4/10 · 12 January 2012]

This is my first review so bare with me.

This movie .. besides the acting which is OK . It doesn't have any real surprise at all.. after reading the reviews i rented this movie .. i should have watched Shining or something else because there is NOTHING new to this film that has not been done. The scary parts were not scary . I waited and waited .. but nothing happened ... And then came (Spoiler) the scene that every person.. no I'll stop writing now ..

But .. to you who are making movies .. PLEASE do something else ... it is sad that every trend that comes you have to rape it (pardon my french). Why the f*-*-* (again . pardon my french) don't u do something new .. This Movie .. which is not all that bad with OK casting .. could have been a lot better . (sorry if my English is bad).

Great Horror Movie!

[hi_im_manic · 8/10 · 21 January 2012]

Not since the original Paranormal Activity was released have I been so impressed with a POV-style horror movie. So if you liked Paranormal Activity, you'll definitely like this little jewel. The pace, story, and setting differs. However, the style and level of unsettling chills delivered are very much the same.

7 Nights of Darkness manages plenty of creepy scares to turn the frail of constitution into nervous insomniacs. I sure wouldn't want to watch it alone in the dark, and I'm a horror buff!

The acting is not going to win anyone any awards, but it's no notable nuisance...save one actress' performance anyways. Yes, there's some serious over-acting from a blonde named Lena, which is unfortunate because the film is so great otherwise. What a relief when she finally quit talking! After the unmistakeably bad performance moment by Lena, the film really picks up and shines... so stay tuned it's well worth it!

I found it odd that characters would mysteriously disappear, yet the others in the group didn't seem the least bit concerned about it. The camera style may be annoying for some, but if you watch TV's Ghost Adventures and aren't bothered by that style then you'll be fine. The FX are effectual yet simplistic, they get the job done well.

The ghosts aren't the usual stalkers or precocious poltergeists we often see in films. They are are plainly vicious and their stories are irrelevant. They aggressively terrorize with violence rather than just revel in their victims confusion.

For a movie made with a budget of about $5000 they certainly got a lot of bang for their buck and present their audience with a pleasing and enjoyable flick. For that, they should be proud, and you'll be glad to have watched it.

Great Effort

[Wuelly · 6/10 · 8 January 2012]

This film was pretty well done, and on an impressively low budget.

Once the film gets rolling, there are some pretty good "creepy" scares. Not too many of the make you jump type scares, but ones that give a bit of the skin crawl.

Early in the film though, there is so much loud dialogue and over-acting from the actors that it really takes away from one of the greatest elements of horror and horror cinematography: ambient sound.

Far too much needless argument and banter between characters early in the set.

The rest of the film is well done, and the director makes good use of low light for effect, and they picked a great setting for the film to take place.

6/10

even MORE found footage

[eahazell42-1 · 3/10 · 4 April 2017]

While not the first, the Blair Witch was at it's time a very effective representation of found footage. (BTW look online for the never was a witch theory,but it was all a planned murder carefully crafted against heather). A side effect of this successful film was, for good or bad, a glut of similar styled formats,most notably the Paranormal series. How ever this forget able little addition fails to make good use of the genre and its potentially great setting, a psychiatric asylum. the tag says it all On April 30, 2010, six reality television show contestants spent seven nights in an abandoned and haunted asylum. The show never aired but an editor for the network was able to piece together some footage. The prize for staying all seven nights was a share of one million dollars that was to be split amongst any contestants that didn't leave. No prize money was ever awarded. We are given very little background info on the place and less unfolds as we watch. The idea of insane ghosts is great but fails to be exploited. The characters are 2 dimensional and seem unconcerned as members vanish one by one...I mean wouldn't you search the whole hospital for them? Nope, instead, it's "let's go to sleep" In one night two people disappear, and after the initial "OH $#!+, THEY VANISHED," they acknowledge it and skip off to the next nightly challenge As for scares, well, they are the usual face change, shadow in the corner schtick. The only "patient" we hear about is an unnamed little girl who haunts the place. No background, no other horrific ghosts with terrifying pasts that once lived here, just shadows. Had they gone to specific sites that were scenes of heinous acts we would be more engaged, No history of demented orderlies, over strict nurses or sadistic doctor torturing or maiming inmates. If you watch it to the end it to the end hoping for answers> There are none, simply because there are no questions

Turned out alright.

[Getajob5389 · 6/10 · 27 May 2012]

The first 30-40 minutes are rough to watch, but the movie gets better from there. It was the first time in a long time that I actually jumped at a couple scenes. My recommendation is to watch it as if you and some friends were filming it, rather than watching it as you would a main stream horror film. Based on pure "scared feeling", i chose to give it a 6, which I believe is why you would watch a movie like this. If you are looking for great effects and A list acting, then continue your search. Overall, I would recommend it to a friend, but I would say to rent rather than buy it.

No drugs/alcohol/sex. Scene with very light violence. Excessive swearing.

Good to Fair Haunted House Film

[aesgaard41 · 8/10 · 3 April 2013]

After the success of "The Blair Witch Story," Hollywood seemed to become inundated with numerous shaky pseudo-documentary movies with "real" characters experiencing paranormal activities. "Paranormal Activity" was one of the better ones, and "7 Nights Of Darkness" is actually a hidden gem in the collection. The movie features six contestants of a hidden camera series who have to stay the night in the abandoned Madison Seminary (which is also named Ohio College Building right out front). The setting is actually a real haunted location once featured in the series, "My Ghost Story." There's no long tedious set-up or back-story about the location, in fact, the location is quite scary on its own. The plot involves the contestants staying one week in the location to win a million dollars, but over time, odd occurrences and their own imaginations start to prey on them and eventually it becomes kind of obvious that something very creepy is haunting the location. The movie is actually incredibly scary. The special effects are light, but after a while, the camera troubles and barrages of static and white noise start to get annoying. It's a very good movie to watch despite the fact it doesn't waste a lot of money on special effects.

Insanely bad or fun romp?

[byronhold · 7/10 · 14 March 2016]

I enjoy this film far more than I should. There's decent character development. A few jump scares and an adequate amount of tension. The characters are pretty well rounded and their motivations for being there are clear (with the exception of Brooke.) Carter (although portrayed by the writer and director) is horribly annoying and a character I was hoping would meet an early demise. John was a smarmy suburbanite and he played it well. Lena was annoying and silly, but fortunately, not there long enough to be as bad as Carter. Randy was also irritating, but the character was supposed to be and it worked. Nick was extremely vanilla and "just there." Brooke, who is extremely attractive could grate my nerves at times. I also was frustrated with never knowing why she needed to stay, even after terrible things were happening. My biggest problem with the film was the idea that a network would green light this show and just toss these people in with no real direction. Most reality competition shows have a host and others involved to make certain things go according to plan. The lack of that hurts the credibility of the film. Also there being no way to communicate was silly. Forgetting ghosts, this is an old building and someone could have been injured, but no way to contact help? That makes no sense. Also, for an abandoned building, the kitchen was well stocked. Why? Another problem was that virtually all of their tasks were to explore or to have séances, nothing very original. It won't win any awards, but it's a fun little film that should be watched on a rainy Friday night.

A Good Surprise

[dommyshell · 7/10 · 11 January 2012]

I don't normally write reviews but thought this one deserved one.

When I first saw the trailer of this film, I thought here we go, again, not another cam hold film, but was bored so I thought give it ago. You know what, i loved it, what worked for me was the fact, there was no massive budget effects, a low budget film but it worked, there was a few good scares, and trust me i don't get scared at all by films, but i was left spooked out. Some actor/actress where believe, there was a couple,

I thought really over acted, but overall damn film. I don't think it will win any awards, but def worth checking out.

Impressive!

[kimirving · 8/10 · 18 February 2012]

I watched this movie the other night, and loved it! Yes, it's similar to The Blair Witch in a lot of ways, but I actually thought this one was better.

I loved the setting of it. And the long shots of the creepy hallways, especially the scene with the chair at the end. I liked the way they were given tasks for each night. I thought that was first-rate.

The cast were excellent. I liked them all. Normally in a movie like this, there is usually one person that will bug me, but not in this movie. Everyone played their role so well, and they were funny. There were some great lines that made me laugh. They acted very naturally. I found them acting exactly how my friends and I would act in the same situation.

The 'ghost girl' was extremely effective. She was creepy as hell actually.

There were a few things I would've changed, but all in all, I would highly recommend this gem. And that's what this is- a gem.

There were so many little things throughout this movie that I loved. The doors all lock from the outside.... makes the hair stand up at the back of my neck. Well done crew!!

Basic but not bad

[lisabecka · 6/10 · 4 February 2019]

No great surprises here, but I wasn't expecting much from the low rating. It's a lot of people yelling at each other and don't watch if you're going to get sick of hearing the f-word Every Single Sentence. I think the actors did a good job. Unfortunately I got distracted by silly things like the fact that this 'abandoned' building appeared to have been abandoned the previous day, that since the lights clearly worked in the bathroom why the boy didn't just turn them on when wondering what was in the bathroom stall (a good scene otherwise) and that the individual interviews were all taken in the same place to judge from the peeling paint on the walls when the people should have been in different rooms. The ending was Blair Witch Project meets The Ring, but again, I don't have a problem with that. It's pretty impossible to do horror without repeating certain tropes. However overall the very similar movie "Hell House" did a much much better job.

Good Movie

[bledrules · 7/10 · 3 December 2011]

I really enjoyed this movie,the acting was fine the ideas although not new but very well done It starts off with 7 people who can make a million dollars if they stay a week in the asylum Night by night things get a little weirder I Enjoy a lot of blood and gore None were in this movie and frankly it didn't need it I personally place this as number 2 on my list for this kind of movie behind only Blair Witch project But in my opinion better then Rec (1 and 2) cloverfield The last Broadcast There are quite a few jumps through out the movie And as the poster in the forum mentioned make sure you watch until after the credits Solid Flick there is a lot of strong language,no sexual situations and no blood and gore

Surprisingly good

[befoulmetalroosa · 8/10 · 9 April 2016]

This was much better than I expected. It was funny and engaging, and the scares were plenty. A group of six young adults enter an abandoned asylum for seven nights, and they have to perform a single task each night. The actors all interacted both like they had just met, but seemed like they had known each other their whole lives. I found myself laughing very frequently during the buildup to the haunted portion of it, and it made me like the movie even more.

The scares were spot on. I had frequent bouts of nervous laughter, after I nearly jumped out of my skin. The ghosts were really very spooky. Barely visible, but still menacing nevertheless. It was good that the only times you actually saw the horrifying face was when Lena was strapped in the lobotomy chair, and at the end of the movie with the last victim. The doll was creepy as well, and even got a thanks at the end of the movie, which I thought was pretty amusing.

The director/actor knew exactly what he was doing when he helmed this film, and he was smart to select the crew he did, which also doubled as the cast. They were all professional and worked to make a really scary found footage film.

Actually good

[Luv_a_3 · 6/10 · 6 September 2017]

I bought this along with 9 other movies in a set from a $5 bin somewhere ... Honestly wasn't expecting anything, I just like to buy the sets and see how bad some can be. But this was one of those movies that was actually good. The beginning wasn't slow, but for some who like it to grab you right away please be patient. Gave me a few good jumps throughout the movies as well as the anticipation of something to come. I easily get bored and lose attention sometimes, but this had my attention the whole time.

A great little find

[missarney-10-547972 · 6/10 · 13 August 2014]

I love the horror sub genre of found footage but have often been very disappointed with the results. Most are completely overacted with cheap scares (Bell Witch Haunting), a weak plot and unbelievable characters. Not expecting much of a film I never heard of, I was surprised by what a decent film it was. For a low budget, the scares were there -- and not just the cheap jump-out-at-you kind. I found it much better than Grave Encounters. A few of the characters did overact but fortunately, one of them goes quiet early on. And the cryptic ending gives the viewer something to think about when it is over....make sure you keep watching past the credits or you will miss it!

6/10 for a horror movie -- not bad.

Diamond in the rough......

[JustTexasChamelion · 8/10 · 24 June 2016]

I actually got this movie in one of those bins of $5 movies...it is in one of those "tons of movies collection" things. Sometimes you get lucky on these kinds of buys and this is one of them. I like the style they used with this pov movie. I'm not easily creeped out by any means..... however this one made me jump a couple of times....big achievement! The acting is realistic for the most part and a good range of believable characters. It's an interesting concept and keeps you paying attention for what comes next with very little if any down time...this I like very much! Granted there are a few improvements that could have been added in like maybe a little history about the asylum or the reason the challenge was set up by the host. Other than that it was quite enjoyable and if I find an individual DVD of it I will grab it for sure!!

7 Stars for 7 Nights

[nebilcs-168-165298 · 7/10 · 8 June 2019]

It's not easy to identify where some found footage efforts work and some don't. I've seen many of both types - and this one fell into the former camp. Perhaps because the casting was broader than the usual tight age and attractiveness range, perhaps because the dialogue seemed improvised and consequently had a natural flow. SFX, not so good, but they were wisely minimised. A few telegraphed jump scares but a few more were unexpected and a genuinely creepy atmosphere was ramped up through the run time. Didn't really understand the post-credit scene as it looked intended to tie in with an unshown opening scene outside the building which might have provided a satisfying bookend... still, definitely recommended for a one-off watch.