THE GALLOWS – The Review

Just when you think the found footage horror film has gasped its last breath, the sub-genre finds a way to revive itself – like how Jason Voorhees or Michael Myers somehow always find a way to return. The PARANORMAL ACTIVITY series tapped into the public’s desire for handheld “real” scares back in 2009 when the first film became a huge success. Five sequels followed since then with a long-delayed sixth one planned for release this Halloween. Many of the other found footage horror films during this period consisted of the same two elements that Oren Peli included in the hit film: human possession and otherworldly spirits. THE LAST EXORCISM, THE DEVIL INSIDE, and AS ABOVE/SO BELOW are just some of the films that I’m referring to.

It’s interesting to see the found footage horror genre come back like one of these 1980’s screen killers considering THE GALLOWS seems to tap directly into the slasher territory these masked men got their names from. Well… at least on the surface. THE GALLOWS combines the handheld aesthetic of these previously mentioned films but then dabbles in revenge, murder-mystery territory. Being a horror fan, I couldn’t help but recall the cheesy high school slasher SLAUGHTER HIGH. Both films tell the story of a high school student who died many years ago in the school, but then flash forward to the present showing dumb kids breaking into the school and messing with things they shouldn’t. It’s a similar concept if you only watch the creepy and effective trailers for THE GALLOWS, but what’s really behind the trailers is a film lacking anything close to that 1986 horror film. Missing is the fun tone, the body count, and quirky 80’s characters. In its place we have four amateur actors that barely make an impression, a predictable story that retreats into the usual paranormal territory we’ve seen before, and only a handful of scares that barely stick out amongst the nauseating camerawork. THE GALLOWS may appear to signal a rebirth of the found footage film with its slasher slant, but reminds horror fans of the sub-genre’s cheap and uninspired limitations.

After a flashback to 1993 where a young boy named Charlie accidentally dies during a school production of “The Gallows,” the film flashes forward to the present day where a new group of students are resurrecting the show. It’s been 20 years but the memory of the tragic accident still looms over the show. Pfeifer (Pfeifer Brown) is center stage in the production and is starring opposite jock turned actor Reese (Reese Mishler). Reese’s friend Ryan (Ryan Shoos) follows the cast of the show around with his camera but doesn’t take the show or the show’s curse very seriously. So much so that he thinks it would be funny to tamper with the set the night before the show opens to prevent it from even opening the following night. He convinces his girlfriend Cassidy (Cassidy Gifford) and Reese to help him dismantle the set in the middle of the night. The three of them break-in and find Pfeifer there working late. But that’s not all. There’s someone else with them in the dark hallways and abandoned auditorium and all signs point to the ghost of Charlie.

I hate to judge a film for what it could have been and not for what it is, but the initial setup here seems to hold so much more potential than what is on screen. THE GALLOWS feels like a gigantic missed opportunity. Throw a group of high school kids into an abandoned high school after-hours and let them run wild while a killer slowly picks them off one after another. It could have been a fun throwback to 1980’s horror mixed with the found footage film; ratchet up the tension with some good scares and throw in some gory killings all with the “realistic” shaky cam. So what exactly went wrong?

What holds back the film the most is that it chooses to focus on only four characters – one of which is our cameraman/narrator who becomes annoying very quickly. I understand that we’re partially rooting for his eventual hanging, but his obnoxious dialogue is a chore to sit through. That leaves us with three other characters, two of which are weak female characters that feel like a bigger joke than our narrator throwing a football at a “theater nerd.” I get that there’s somewhat of a tradition in the horror genre of having a dumb push-up-bra clad girl run around and scream, but could you maybe pepper in just a plain normal female character or dare I ask, strong female character? Then we have the jock with a heart of gold rounding out the goof troop. Reese is boring at best and has absolutely no discernable characteristics. At least he’s better though than our insufferable cameraman who dishes out lame lunk-head jokes more often than we see the hooded killer on-screen. If there was a larger group for Charlie to pick off, maybe his hangman’s noose would have inspired more thrills.

One thing directors Travis Cluff and Chris Lofing do get right is the location. The school at night becomes the best character. New entryways and hidden rooms are discovered, and there’s an eerie atmosphere, as you never quite know when Charlie is going to appear at the end of a hallway or step into frame. I also have to applaud them for delivering a truly creepy final scene that will leave you wondering why this type of dread couldn’t have been maintained throughout the entire film.

THE GALLOWS is a small scale horror film that wants to at times feel bigger but other times is content with dumb downing for its teen audience. It attempts to create a mythology for a new horror icon in the form of Charlie, but it’s kind of hard to do so when his masked face doesn’t appear until a little over the 60 minute mark in a 81 minute film – in fact, the scares don’t even really start to ramp up until 45 minutes in, unless you think the Scooby gang running around pulling locked doors for 10 minutes is scary. Having a killer haunt a group of high school thespians with an executioner mask and a noose sounds like a terrific modern take on THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. And there are a few moments that will cause unseasoned horror audiences to jump, but there’s so little for true horror fans to give a standing ovation to. Mostly though, THE GALLOWS serves as a frustrating reminder that Blumhouse is now in the market of serving summer entertainment for teens. Over the years I have sat through my fare share of these kinds of films. It’s just disappointing when you’re hoping for more from a winning concept and a production company that once sought to breathe life into the horror genre with films like INSIDIOUS and SINISTER. With THE GALLOWS the stage setup has potential, but the production quickly shows that it truly was made for a high school stage.

Overall rating: 2 out of 5

THE GALLOWS opens in theaters everywhere July 10