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Reviews
Vacant House (2016)
A slow moving, but thoughtful and deliberate story about connecting to the past.
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.