The Haunting at Woodland Hills (2016) User Reviews

Well this was boring.

[Patient444 · 3/10 · 25 September 2016]

There is no horror here. I guess it's mostly about redemption, a battle fought on 3 fronts if I got it correctly.

I have almost nothing to say about it. It's a movie, but it could have easily been a soap opera episode, it has jail breaking, personal relationships that are wild, lots of tears, drama and so and so. I would never recommend it, and you should know exactly what you're going into.

So without spoiling it, you will find no horror, just a man trying to find a path to cleanse his soul and forgive those around him. This is it. This is the movie right there. I nearly fell asleep two times.

But! the movie is well made. For what it truly is, I think a good effort was put into it, they made the most of the budget, and those people involved in the making of Vacant House should be actually proud. They made this cute little project, and they could aim for bigger next time.

Cheers!

Complete waste of time

[Leofwine_draca · 2/10 · 3 November 2017]

THE HAUNTING AT WOODLAND HILLS is one of those very cheap indie features that mostly follows a single character around a single house. It's posited as a horror flick but aside from dealing with a rotting corpse, there's barely any horror content. In fact, there's barely content of any kind here. All of the narrative and exposition is revealed via endless telephone conversations and the like, a technique which becomes quickly tiresome.

No matter where you go, there you are

[nogodnomasters · 4/10 · 24 July 2017]

Cameron Matthews (Cris Cunningham ) escapes from jail even though he was near his parole time. His sister Elizabeth (Dee Ann Newkirk) helps him, but only to a point. Cameron wants to go look for uncle Rusty (T.J. Maxwell) who he views as a father figure because his real father (Richard Miraan) did something to him one night as a child. We get a faded memory flashback that never shows a face. Cameron holds up at the "Vacant House" (US title) which has the skeleton of Bart Giordano (Don Bondi) a Vietnam War vet, survivalist, and lousy dad. Cameron reads the unopened letter sent by his son and develops a psychological and occasionally supernatural relationship with the corpse, drawling parallels to his own situation with his father. The guy was dead for a while and I was thinking...isn't there any property tax? Wouldn't the state...never mind.

The film was boring and drab. We hear a lot of Cameron's thought process throughout the feature. It has a skeleton and one event that borders on supernatural, but most likely was just Cameron's mind. It is not a horror and not much of a thriller. It is a drama with a twist, which I saw coming from early on. You should too. The UK title "Haunting of Woodland Hills" must refer to Cameron being haunted by his memory as there wasn't any real haunting and I had no idea they were in a place called "Woodland Hills" unless that is a metaphor for his brain.

Guide: F-word. No sex or nudity. Drama with a skeleton. Not horror.

Not a horror movie.

[berg-74532 · 5/10 · 11 August 2020]

I think the main reason for many (not all) of the bad reviews and the odd amount of anger is the only reason I can see to why this is listed as a horror movie is a big portion of the film the co Star is a corpse now the corpse doesn't talk or jump up and kill people with his boney fingers he's just a plot device. If someone told me this was written and produced by a church it would not surprise me. It has a message and it's not overpowering but if you like stories of loss and possible redemption this could be for you but if you want to be scared and in any way and need to be scared by a movie right away this is not for you. At times it seems to ramble with almost no purpose but it does eventually get to a point wether it's a good point or worth watching that is up to you and I've never said that before but this is not a movie that if it knew what it was before I started watching I wouldn't have watched but it was good enough so I didn't think it was wasted time.

Not a horror

[takato0524 · 1/10 · 16 February 2021]

I believe it was miscategorized as there isn't a lick of horror in this. It was basically a drama and I watched all of it thinking the horror was on the way. But my star rating of 1 stands even as a drama.

The plot was paper thin: a guy hates his dad cuz he did something to him one night maybe or it was a dream but no one believes him. For some reason he also was in prison and broke out. We never find out why he was in prison. And we never find out what was done to him as a kid, so we have to use our imaginations. There's a "twist" at the end that you saw coming, and then the movie ends, leaving you with more questions and no answers.

Terrific acting/direction

[kerrlord · 9/10 · 28 August 2017]

This is a drama, not a horror, and it is highly affecting as one. The mystery and result are worthwhile and linger on with you after its conclusion. Great acting, great direction. These high quality elements are as pro (or more pro even) tan much of the summer blockbusters out there.

Not a haunting or horror movie really

[the-squiggs · 8/10 · 25 August 2017]

But it's a well written, slow build into a good story. It's very introspective and really had me caring about the characters by the end.

Technically speaking, it is well done for a low budget feature, picture and sound both helping tell the narrative well.

If you are interested in well made simple stories and are willing to give an indie feature a chance you could do much worse.

Slow burn that's worth your time

[unclelee83 · 8/10 · 18 January 2017]

Vacant House is a thoughtful, moody piece that takes its time getting where it's going and delivers some powerful performances along the way. It's important to know what you're getting into with this film; if you're looking for a horror film or suspense/thriller, your barometer to judge and ENJOY the film will be off. It's more of a character/think piece, but there's nothing wrong with that.

It's clearly a low-budget film and the equipment on-hand (particularly the camera and lenses), doesn't do justice to the thought or skill that went into making the film. Don't let that stand in the way of your appreciation for the writing and directing.

The performances are what impressed me the most, particularly from the lead Cris Cunningham. Often, with first-time filmmakers on a truly shoestring budget, we get a cast that is not quite up to the task of whatever the material demands of them. Not the case here. Cris and co. turn in powerful performances at every turn. Cris pleasantly surprised me on more than one occasion.

This is a film that will make you think and have you wondering until the end. Well worth your time.

This little movie is well worth your time, so check it out if you get a chance!

[cteast · 9/10 · 10 October 2016]

Wow. I honestly didn't know what to expect when starting this movie, but I was genuinely impressed. Usually, with low-budget films, you have to first get past the bad production values, but this one was solid across the board: photography, lighting, sound, acting... It was all professional quality, so it allowed you to forget you were watching an indie film and just get caught up in the story. And it is a compelling story.

As the movie progresses, you find yourself getting invested in the main character's plight, wondering if he'll get caught by the police, but most importantly hoping he'll find the emotional catharsis he needs.

I won't spoil anything, I'll just say this little movie is well worth your time, so check it out if you get a chance!

Very well played out mystery

[glenwise · 10/10 · 24 August 2017]

This isn't a horror film, so please throw out that expectation. What this is, however, is storytelling at its best. Independent filmmakers can learn from this film. How do you make an indie film with excellence? You write a great story with suspense, well-crafted characters--then you cast some amazing actors--and take advantage of every piece of equipment you've got. Suspenseful, thought provoking, and a great twist at the end. Worth every minute of your time to watch.

Carefully crafted drama

[adcalvetti · 8/10 · 24 August 2017]

It's a bummer this is being branded as a horror flick...there's actually a lot more happening here than the cheap scares and gore you'd expect from the cover.

There are thrilling moments for sure, but I was mostly struck by the film's restraint. There are lots of opportunities for jump scares and supernatural moments, but that stuff is low-hanging fruit for a film in this budget bracket. I think that by choosing not to go there, the filmmakers achieved a tone that sets the film apart from others in its class. It's conscious of the tropes of a micro budget thriller, maybe even flirts with them ironically, but the focus stays locked on the drama. I think the audience still experiences the tension of those tropes through imagination, but they don't distract from the story. If anything, I think they're sort of unspoken catalysts.

Ultimately, this is a film about character and transformation, and it's inspirational to see extremely limited resources in the hands of a filmmaker with a good story to tell. Gore, ghosts, and hills with eyes are a dime a dozen, but the well told story will always be king.

A slow moving, but thoughtful and deliberate story about connecting to the past.

[apple-69603 · 8/10 · 21 February 2017]

A couple of things to get out of the way first: 1) As others have noted, this is not a horror film (despite how IMDb classifies it), so judging it as such, mischaracterizes the film and misses out on a good story. 2) This is clearly a low budget (equipment) film, but this doesn't get in the way of the viewer's enjoyment. The quality of story, acting, and directing far exceeds this film's resource limitation.

Vacant House tells the story of Cameron Matthews, a young man running away from the law and the pain from his past. He is trying to connect with a beloved family member through a series of videos left on an old camcorder. When his sister chooses to no longer support him in his escape plan; an injured Cameron, out of options finds himself in a vacant house where he can lay low and sort through his current situation. It is through this time spent alone that Cameron begins to heal and can start to see and accept the truth about his past. The story unfolds through a mix of past and present experiences, as well as offering clues as to the previous occupant's demise.

Overall, I enjoyed what this movie offered: a thoughtful story about this Cameron's migration towards redemption. And while the filmmakers may have been limited by resources, the quality of the film leaves me with high hopes for their future projects.

Good film, very clumbsy marketing

[godzillabird · 8/10 · 16 January 2018]

I watched this film on Amazon Prime. It's found in the horror section under the title THE HAUNTING AT WOODLAND HILL. The cover art shows an evil face looming over a cabin giving the impression that this is a horror film. Out of respect for the well crafted story of broken families ties and redemption, the original title VACANT HOUSE, in my opinion, is a better title. This isn't a horror story in the classical sense. Though broken families, abuse, secrets and shame can certainly be horrific. If you're looking for a good scare don't watch this but if you would like to see a very well crafted, nicely acted film, check this one out.