The Houses October Built (2014) User Reviews

Nothing great.

[chrismackey1972 · 4/10 · 16 October 2014]

This movie is about 5 friends - 4 guys, 1 girl - who go on a roadtrip to various Halloween haunted houses. Along the way, they discover some rather weird people. Still, they're not satisfied with the "Mickey Mouse" halloween houses, so they opt for those of a darker, more realistic nature, which they soon find. Some of them chase the group of out the houses with chainsaws. That leads the group to wonder just how far some people will go not just to scare the guests, but to also a thrill for themselves, which is the message of the movie: How far will people go for a thrill.

The acting was good enough for what this was. Brandy Schaefer - the lead actress - is hot She reminded me a lot of Danielle Harris :D It's filmed through camcorders, which is an overused and rather annoying leftover gimmick from The Blair Witchcraft days. The movie finally starts moving along about 20 minutes before it ends; it's running time is 91 minutes, so yeah it's a bit boring up until then. I've heard there was an underworld of drugs, sex, and other dark vises, but I guess this movie is trying to say there's an underworld of Halloween houses, too. lol There is some nudity in this. The group goes to a strip club, and there are topless dancers with some of the fakest breasts I've ever seen.

I gave this a 4-star rating. The storyline about visiting haunted houses was original, and as I said, the acting was pretty good for a low-budget indie. I love Halloween; it's probably my favorite holiday, but this movie did very little to keep me interested. Most of it had the group traveling from one haunted house to another. It wasn't very enthralling. But if you're a fan of found-footage films, you might enjoy this more than I did. I would not watch this again because of the bore-factor.

It's alright.

[willlie · 5/10 · 17 October 2014]

This is not an entirely awful movie. I do think they could have done more with what the premise was supposed to be. There were about 5, maybe 6 times that I jumped in the movie, but it wasn't from the climax, at all... It was a tad bit gimmicky at times and when the actors were supposed to be "frightened" and "scared", they weren't good actors at all. All the other moments of the cast "acting" in between were alright though. They could've done a lot more than what they did, and made it a ton more scarier than what it was. I was disappointed with the ending as well.

I loved the plot of the movie and what I thought it was going to be, but ultimately I was let down.

I did enjoy going through the different haunted houses with the cast, but that was about all I enjoyed out of this movie. If you like haunted houses, and don't mind cheesy acting here and there, give this movie a go. If you're looking for something entirely inventive and scary, this movie is not that.

If you go into watching this movie with low expectations, you'll probably be more satisfied than me.

Moderately Decent

[cindyapples · 4/10 · 30 April 2015]

I give this movie a four out of ten overall on IMDb's scale out of ten points.

For writing I give it a four out of ten. It is not terrible but also nothing special. It is a pretty easy story line that you can see the plot developments coming in. There are twists but they are the typical kind of horror and thriller movie twists that you can see coming a mile away. The dialogue is not bad but nothing really stands out as great and most of all there is nothing about the story or script that sticks with you.

For acting I give it a four out of ten as well. There are some good actors and some bad and even terrible actors but most of them are decent to average.

For production value I give it a five out of ten. The picture looks great and the shots they show are pretty interesting and keep you interested until the end. The horror movie shots are typical but well done. Again nothing special that stands out or is very memorable but definitely nothing too awful either. The sets etc are all decent. The sound is also good though at times I thought the music or score were too loud.

What a waste of time

[Mikep159 · 1/10 · 13 July 2015]

I sat down and got all ready for a good horror movie. Too bad I chose this one. With in 15 minutes I should have shut it down, but I didn't, with the constant hope that it would turn around. It didn't.

For those who want to see this, the basic premise is decent (young people looking for a good underground-type Halloween haunted house) and it could have been a great movie had it gone in a different direction. But the acting, the writing, and ending fall short of anything less than awful.

(SPOILERS IN THIS PARAGRAPH) Let's discuss the ending. I do this in hopes of deterring people from wasting their time. It's terrible. I guess they thought being buried alive would make for a good ending. And it happens in an instant. No real lead up or reason given as to why. One minute they are in a haunted house, and at this point I thought it was going to turn into a Hostel type movie, but no, they just end up in coffins being buried alive. In my book, this sucks.

For a better time go see your dentist.

Not a Documentary

[Hollywood_Yoda · 7/10 · 1 October 2018]

This film sets itself up like a documentary, but veers very quickly from that point. If you don't know what you're watching, you'll be in for either a treat or a surprise. For a horror film, which is what this is, it can get pretty weird. Probably one of the weirder horror films that I've seen.

The film had a slow pace to begin with, but gets slower towards the end; and the ending is really strange. Best to watch when you're fully awake so you can figure out what's going on, and best to watch with someone if you scare easily.

I was surprised when a sequel was announced.

The Houses October Built This Movie Burns Down

[thomasmorris-97428 · 1/10 · 26 September 2016]

Spoiler Alert!

This review contains spoilers, but let's be honest if it's 2016 and you haven't seen this stretched out short do not see it now. Go your own way, awful things lurk here.

Things like: No character motivation, why do these characters (especially after one if almost raped) continue to pursue this dead end adventure when they are clearly being stalked? Why are they filming it? One says he was a film school drop out, but not everyone who set foot in film school films everything.

Why are they being stalked? If so many millions of people go to haunts each year why is this group chosen for the blue skeleton? There is an indication that some of the staff at the first haunt are stalking them because they made an ill advised decision to proclaim their love of Halloween from the roof top of a haunt, but that's not explored any deeper.

Was that last haunt actually the blue skeleton or some murder cult that tricked them? This is one of those questions that would have made the movie better.

Who wrote the script? Everyone behind a mask sounds like the same guy trying to sound southern, but has never heard a southern accent. Every haunt worker who adds to the plot sounds like this.

The ending is so bad that it's not even certain who dies. Being buried alive is everyone's worst nightmare, but its been in so many movies that you need some kind of special twist to make it intriguing anymore. On top of that, the crazy haunt workers who bury them don't act very crazy, they basically bury them in about three feet of dirt them smoke a cigarette and talk about what's for lunch, which probably wasn't even a terrifying meal of people! They probably just went to Denny's and had pancakes like a normal family, which still would have been creepier than the actual ending!

They might have cut off one character's tongue, but you never see the tongue or really even know if that's what happened. They might have cut up one fella with a chain saw, but then you see him getting buried alive.

I thought that they may have been going for some ambiguity, but they set up very terrifying questions and then instantly answer them, and leave really boring questions unanswered. Did any haunts actually use real corpses? Who knows...

On top of the terrible script, lack of character motivation, poor attempt at ambiguity, and ending where they did literally every right thing wrong, the actors (who might have been great with a good script or entirely different movie) were all cookie cutters of each other. Every male except Mike is the exact same character. So much so that by the middle of the movie I couldn't figure out who was who. Mike is only different because he is a little bit dumber, has red hair and a beard. Brandy had a chance of standing out, but turned into a lackluster version of a female co-star.

This is the first review I've ever written so go easy on me. If my review is awful consider the source material.

If you skipped then entire review to find the point at the end, here is the point.

Do not watch this movie. It's awful.

Good but imperfect, one for genre fans

[johnbkaramazov · 7/10 · 2 September 2016]

Five hard drinking friends go on a booze-fuelled roadtrip looking for the most extreme haunted house experience America's backcountry has to offer. It's actually a fantastic premise as the film-makers are able to play with loads of creepy imagery, ratcheting up the tension without shooting their bolt too soon. The assumption is that none of it is real, but underlying these visits is the tension that... what if they aren't? For a low-budget film the acting and the script is really good. Found footage always benefits from believable characters exchanging natural dialogue, which is what you get here without a doubt. Some of the back and forth is actually pretty funny and at times I found myself chuckling along; which I think is a good thing in a horror film as it builds a rapport between the viewer and characters, which draws you into their world. It's a pretty slow film all told and the last act spoiled the build up for me, leaving me rather unsatisfied.

Was I sad I watched it though? Hell no! This film is all about the tension and the imagery. The uncertainty, the questioning of what's real and what isn't. It isn't perfect, but with a few simple tweaks and a better ending, it could have been. If you like horror and you like found footage, this film will totally entertain you. If you liked the trailer and you're sitting on the fence, get off that fence and stick it on. It gets more right than wrong, some of the scenes are so downright creepy they'll be knocking around in my psyche for some time to come.

You want Hell House LLC. Not This. Turn Back.

[hnhnyc · 2/10 · 9 October 2017]

The only reason I'm giving this a 2 is because of the interesting content that may or may not be real revolving around their interviews with haunted house workers. It's boring, predictable, and I think by now everyone with a clown phobia has made a decision to avoid movies like this, not flock to them.

For those of us looking for a thoughtful movie, a scary movie, a movie that you'll look back on the next day and go "Damn, that was good," this is not it. This is lazy, self-indulgent and drags across the screen like the corpse we never get dragged off camera but kind of wish we do, since nobody is the least bit likable. You sit through the end because you think, as with most FF movies, the slow build will pay off. It does not. If you think you can guess the ending, you're probably right, if you're over the age of eight. That's about as much worldly experience you need to call it.

You want to be scared sleepless? You want amazing writing and genius use of FF perspective? You want Hell House LLC. That movie kicks this house's butt, on so, so many levels.

I watched this thinking I'd get a least a similar thrill ride, and what I got was held hostage on a stupid RV for an hour and a half of my life. Oh, and hey, literally everyone involved with this movie? I also see there's a sequel who's trailer advertises any semblance of what you wanted us to believe about the ending—that right there kills your market for those who you wanted to leave hanging. You guys need to get off this ride before you dig your own grave.

The houses illusion built

[chaos-rampant · 2 November 2015]

Nevermind the actual film, the idea is one of the most potent I've seen in some time.

A group of friends set out in a van in search of horror, haunted house attractions scattered around rural America. It's the days leading up to Halloween so we can have a pervasive atmosphere of masks and monsters roaming the streets. I like that it's a glimpse outside the usual and tied to a larger fabric of make-believe.

The idea is that we'll venture into these houses where horror is supposed to be controlled around us, the work of fiction, only to discover more slippery boundaries of truth. This would touch at the very essence of horror, exploiting the same perturbations that move viewers in both the actual houses and film; see, we know it's not real, but what to do when your body tells you otherwise?

So nevermind that it's actors we see and scripted reactions. Some of the most potent footage here are from within these houses where we go in with a camera and a swirl of monsters lunges at us, staged but it comes alive. I'm guessing these are actual places that partnered with the filmmakers and this is what tantalized me going in; it would be at least in part an actual tour of that America that goes to pilgrimage in actual places.

They manage to bungle this for my taste, the part where fiction blurs and we go to something that comes alive in the moment of watching.

For one, they chose the "found footage" mode (silly name, largely the baggage of Blairwitch - it really means "someone is filming this now"). It's the most apt choice I've seen since Last Exorcism, but no one ever films a sense of place and passing time, a physical sense of journey; they waste it on lots of blathering around a camera so that it ends up feeling like an episode of cable TV. Indicative of the actual makers holding the camera I guess.

And then there's the ending. This is where the staged scenarios in these attractions don't cut it any more as the characters push for more and more "real" stuff. Lo, there's rumor of a secret place that you can only reach by invitation. But once there, it's the most obviously staged part of the film, the complete opposite of where we were meant to be viewing-wise.

So this is a miss, filmmakers with maybe the strongest idea of any of their peers this year but none of the tools of insight to cultivate it. They outline enough for me to imagine it in more intuitive hands so all in all I would have this over the next paranormal film.

Someone has gone out with the urge for horror in mind (and it's our very urge to inhabit illusion that made us build these houses), thinking he knows illusion from real, but it begins to spill outside, perturbing reality. From a certain point on, the apparitions become aware of someone watching, aware inside the fiction, so conspire to stage the real thing as a cosmic prank that shatters lives.

Watch The Funhouse, Hooper's film driven by the same instinct, a funhouse that extends from the actual place to haunt the whole film.

Pretty creepy.

[onebengalcat · 7/10 · 8 February 2020]

I really liked this movie. It was pretty creepy. Some parts were a little unsettling. It'll make you think twice, before you go looking for the ultimate scare. Road trip of horror.

Dollarstore Halloween masks and a plot that go nowhere

[GothYiayia · 1/10 · 17 October 2020]

Like another reviewer, I started this and somehow kept it on hoping it would get better. The characters are entirely unlikeable, and nothing happens to any of them. You could go to your local dollar store, pick up a clown mask and record something on your phone with more substance. I would say this movie is ridiculously bad, but then I'd have to admit it even qualifies as a film and I consciously can't do that. I'm about to watch the sequel because I hate myself.

A great horror flick to watch around Hallowe'en time for the creepy factor

[helenahartell · 8/10 · 12 January 2015]

I scored this high because it isn't like any movie I've seen before. Its not as much as scary as it is creepy, however. In my opinion, its a movie that plays more on an individuals phobias than anything else for that kind of fear factor. I won't go into detail because I don't want to spoil it for anyone - but you have to be into hand held camera movies like 'The Blair Witch Project' to enjoy it.

I read through the negative 'don't waste your time' comments and came across a positive one which swayed it for me, I watched it and wasn't disappointed, so hopefully you won't be either. Its original, realistic, and if you get really into it, it will certainly creep you out.

good horror flick but not perfect

[arlolimbers · 7/10 · 26 February 2023]

I am a huge haunt fan and I am glad to see a movie that did its research when it came to the haunted attractions. I thought the characters were a lot more likable than the Blair witch project but like the Blair witch project, the characters were so incredibly stupid, they wouldn't flinch if a gun was pointed at there face. This movie did give a great Halloween atmosphere that I loved but I just wished there was at least one good kill (I know it turns out to be a really extreme haunt in the sequel but if I was buried alive in a haunted house I would not go on another haunt tour). I did like the documentary parts and I thought it was the strongest part of the film.

where was the ending to this movie

[damonbrough90 · 2/10 · 20 May 2015]

most movies you watch have a beginning, middle and end but that is not the case with the houses that October built. it had its beginning with main story given to us, setting the scene as a horror movie with a few jump scares it had a middle where the plot thickened with more jump scares and continuing on with the story but then where was the end ?????? why where who and what next are all questions the film leaves unanswered, giving the viewer an unfinished story this film is just another jump on the band wagon throw in some jump scares and scary faces and hey presto we have a film lets make money just another found footage film to throw in the never watch again pile

Waiting, Waiting For It To Get Good

[TreatMorrison · 1/10 · 30 October 2015]

The trouble with nearly all movies in the "Found Footage" genre is I have trouble getting scared at a movie when I'm so busy trying to see what's going on and I can't stop wondering "Okay, now who has the camera going now?" Then there comes a point where invariably I think "So why aren't they helping their friend(s) stay alive instead of filming?" or "Oh, the killers have the camera, now. Then how are they able to film screaming people in coffins after they've been buried alive? "

"Houses Built in October" has its moments, but you have to wait a long time for them to happen. Meanwhile we have to endure six young yuppies whose trite conversations are endless. Guess this was to convey how they were just ordinary folks, shucks, just like us. I don't hang out with dull people, myself, so I suppose the director and writer thought some of us needed the exposure. They were wrong there, too.

Just like "Blair Witch Project" this one gets creepy in the last 20 minutes. Then what happens to these not-very-bright people is so ugly you sort of feel sorry that they're being killed because it seems to be happening just because they're boring. Or stupid. Anyway, some of the haunted houses are interesting, but the film makers couldn't even make the gratuitous titty bar scene fun. It's just there.

Great Halloween seasonal movie

[jonnytheshirt · 6/10 · 17 October 2014]

This movie is perfect for this time of the year. Even the title's actually great and the idea quite fresh for the slew of horror movies we have, it really has to be given credit for that. Found footage style is here to stay it seems and although I do hanker for sublime cinematic photography, the style applies itself well enough to this movie. There is a sense of vibrancy in the tour of the locations during this halloween period, going through Haunts and mixing in interviews with real life workers all adds to building a generally creepy and well made atmosphere thats great with pop corn and friends this time of year. There is one thing holding this movie back however and it's that possibly the director and writer should have concentrated more being behind the camera to make this good movie great. Essentially the acting of the central characters didn't shine much for me. Difficult to do with the GoPro camera approach however the characters just didn't inspire any empathy and all seemed a tad lame expect the beardy bloke. All in all good fun popcorn movie for this time of the year and I hope another installment will be along and more slick undoubtedly.

Verdict: Shaky Cam Time

[MoviesReviews101 · 2/10 · 8 November 2014]

Story: We start by learning about the history of how in America 2500 Haunted Houses open over Halloween, we also learn about myths behind certain ones can help raise their appeal. We move to meet our five friends who want to go on a road trip to find the best haunted house resort. We see the group set up their cameras and hit the road in their RV. We see how they don't make any friends at the first house and get a few extra scares by the workers at the house. As they continue their journey the group is continually haunted by the members of the first haunted house. All this leads to the extreme haunt they were questing for, but how much will be real? This really comes off very confusing, very messy and nearly impossible to watch. Saying that it does touch on an interesting source material, looking at extreme tourism and how people will always look for the next level in scares. It gets shot like a documentary but plays out like a road trip and as for the moments in the 'haunts' we just end up watching black screens due to the terrible lighting. It fits into the bog standard found footage idea for a story, that usually all end up the same. It offers nothing new to the genre and is easily forgettable. (3/10) Actor Review Cast: As the whole group play what is meant to be themselves we get the usual bounding and companionship along their journey. We see how they look out for each other during the moments of unexplained material. They all try their best to come off and look like they would all be friends and have enough scare reaction to convince but too many of the scares are just false ones. Director Review: Bobby Roe – I am usually a fan of found footage films, but this was hard to follow and showed poor direction. (3/10) Horror: Too many false jumps and confusing jump shots ruin the ending which could have been strong. (4/10) Thriller: Because of the false jumps you lose interest in caring what happens to the characters. (3/10) Settings: Even though the idea of haunted house would make good ideas for setting the lighting ruined any chance of them being used well. (2/10) Suggestion: This won't appeal to enough people to suggest to anyone, the camera work is very jumpy and too much is just darkness. (Miss It) Best Part: The Creepy Kid Worst Part: Camera Work Improvement Ideas: Dump the found footage Make the ending make more sense, by shooting each character rather than 5 seconds of each jump 5 seconds again and keep jumping between them. Cut the attempted false jump scares down Believability: No (0/10) Chances of Tears: No (0/10) Chances of Sequel: No Post Credits Scene: No Oscar Chances: No Runtime: 1 Hour 31 Minutes Overall: Black Screens and jumpy Camera Disaster

Succeeds

[The_Weirdling · 7/10 · 13 November 2017]

For me, this film succeeds in the one and only category that I ever demand of a horror flick- it scared the heck out of me. It loses some points for falling into the cliché of a documentary and - when you stop to think about it - the finding of the film doesn't really make sense. But otherwise, it had an excellent creep factor that kept me with it.

Crap

[richkiel · 1/10 · 1 August 2021]

What little there is in terms of plot here, ends in a most dissatisfying way. We never learn what happened or why, or even how it ended. Nothing makes sense. Apparently some creeps stalk a group of people and record them as they scare them over and over again. For a moment we re led to believe these might be supernatural beings, but it becomes pretty clear it i s just some sickos who are making a tape for fun. It ends with some stupid random scares and an open ending where the protagonists appear to be buried alive, but we never learn whether they were buried for real or if the creeps that were doing it to them in order to film them being terrified eventually let them go. Half the film seems to be just pointless filler as they visit various horror houses. All in all, it was tedious and utterly disappointing in the end. One of the greatest let-downs in found footage movies ever.

Just in time for Halloween

[victoryismineblast · 7/10 · 26 October 2014]

I for one am someone who has jumped on the bandwagon supporting the new onslaught of found footage horror movies. I review them, list them and enjoy them as a whole. The problem lately is that they seem to be limited to just a few plots. Alien attack/abduction, people exploring haunted asylums, bigfoot etc.

Here we have something kind of new. A group of five people load up an R.V. and decide to tour the country visiting haunted houses, not the spirit haunted kind, but the ones run by people in costume designed scare people around Halloween. They film what they see inside and this is interspersed with what seems to be actual footage of interviews with people who work in these attractions.

This goes on for a while as they become bored of these cookie cutter haunts and try to find something more extreme. Eventually they find what they want and it becomes much more than what they bargained for.

As seems to be the case with a lot of these found footage movies, this one takes a while to get to the scary stuff but the tours through the haunts are interesting and some of the interactions with the (possible) workers are frightening. When things start to go horribly wrong, there are some pretty intense sequences and a pretty frightening ending.

All in all this was good fun if not perfect and a great view for this time of the season.

Super boring

[GnRRocktQueen · 1/10 · 25 October 2020]

The premise of this movie is promising but it falls so short. There is no rhyme or reason for what happens and I was trying to look past that. They use the characters going through haunted houses to scare you so I basically felt like I was on many virtual haunted house tours. And, good god, that ending. It's like they couldn't think of where to go so they were just like HERE YA GO. I should've turned it off.

Fun Horror Film

[j-w-b-concepts · 8/10 · 29 October 2014]

One of the better horror flicks released this Halloween season. Had a very unique story line and was filmed in such a way with its cut scenes that at times you might get lost in it and think it to be a real documentary. The cast did a great job of acting and as a group of friends in the movie had plenty of moments of comic relief getting the viewer attached to them as the story progressed and built up to the climax. What really made this movie great in my opinion is that the haunts they visited are all real locations out in the middle of no where(aside from the last one). The ending is fun and leaves the viewer with there own opinions of what just took place. I'm sure plenty will disagree, but for a movie that really had no publicity around where I live, I think if marketed right would have been a big hit as it had a similar feel to the first paranormal activity. I think now a days it is really tough to make a great horror film as so many people are desensitized, but this one really drags you in. I will be adding The Houses October Built to my collection of horror films.

Could've used more...

[Red_Identity · 16 October 2014]

I think the premise for this is pretty fantastic, and one of the very few idea were found-footage would actually work. As it is, the film maintains a very good level of suspense and dread throughout, until the climax. The climax here is really just like so many other horrors films', and the fact that this was doing something different before it made it even that much more disappointing. Still, everything before that really does seem to work to an extent, it's not overly obnoxious and it's able to really gather some good images. I don't think this is anything amazing or even really original, but I'd recommend it. Some decent acting too.

My favorite holiday mixed with my least favorite film style

[jackmeat · 6/10 · 6 October 2015]

My quick rating - 5,6/10. An excellent idea by far which is proved since the documentary/horror version of this was screened 4 years ago to high praise. That aside, the premise is simple yet effectively done. A group of people travel around the USA searching for the ultimate haunted house. For those unaware (yes, Australians know little about this), during Halloween people,towns,schools, etc. setup haunted houses with props, effects and people to scare the crap out of you. So, instead of the group following the norm, they are looking for the little town local scares to try and find the "extreme haunted house" In their travels, they start to attract attention of another group that appears to also travel, but are part of these exhibits. The build to the climax of the film is well done, allowing for many scares inside the actual mock haunted houses (which would've been a great movie for 3-D). The movie itself is often dark (go figure) so at times hard to see what is going on but all and all not distracting. The acting wasn't anything special nor really mattered. THe plot itself was driven on just fine and luckily the director did not rely solely on the constant shaky footage crap all the time. A great idea indeed just wish a little more could've been squeezed out of the story itself. Perfect for Halloween and Shocktober.

worthless piece of crap

[rullstol · 1/10 · 9 July 2015]

everything about this movie is BAD.

i didn't jump once.

Uninteresting and boring worthless waste of time from the beginning to the end.

The script is a good idea, but it just falls flat.

if you are scared of clowns maybe this is for you, but i'd rather watch "killer klowns from outer space" in that case.

Maybe with a bigger budget, and a REALLY well working script; it could work.

DO NOT see it!