Havenhurst (2016)

A troubled young woman takes up residence in a gothic apartment building where she must confront a terrifying evil.

Director:

Andrew C. Erin

Writers:

Andrew C. Erin, Daniel Farrands

Stars:

Julie Benz, Belle Shouse, Josh Stamberg

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview:
Julie Benz	...	Jackie / Jamie
Belle Shouse	...	Sarah
Josh Stamberg	...	Tim
Danielle Harris	...	Danielle
Douglas Tait	...	Jed
Matt Lasky	...	Ezra
Dendrie Taylor	...	Tammy
Toby Huss	...	Wayne
Jennifer Blanc-Biehn	...	Paula St.clair (as Jennifer Blanc)
Fionnula Flanagan	...	Eleanor
Currie Graham	...	Mike
Carrie Armstrong	...	Jen
Gwen Holloway	...	Alexis

Storyline

A troubled young woman takes up residence in a gothic apartment building where she must confront a terrifying evil.

---

Plot Keywords:

apartment | acid | gore | drinking | alcohol | 

---

Genres:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 February 2017 (USA)

Also Known As:

La resurrección del mal

Company Credits

Production Co:

Protocol Entertainment, Twisted Pictures, Parismony Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Seen in the apartment building is a portrait and news clippings of notorious serial killer H. H. Holmes, who owned a hotel in Chicago which became known as his murder castle. The hotel was designed with false walls, secret passageways, and an incinerator in the basement to dispose of his victims' bodies. Holmes confessed to murdering 27 people but only 9 could be confirmed, and some estimate he may have tortured and killed as many as 200 hotel guests prior to being caught.

---

Goofs

As Tammy has acid poured on her face, her face "melts" however her hands appear to be impervious even though she tried to block the acid with them.

User Reviews

The Gothic Apartment

A troubled young woman takes up residence in a Gothic apartment building where she must confront a terrifying evil.

Director Andrew C. Erin (Embrace of the Vampire) brings us this film from a screenplay co-written with Daniel Farrands (Amityville: The Awakening). We also get music from tomandandy (Mothman Prophecies, The Strangers and a couple Resident Evil films), some of the best in the business. Farrands may be best known for writing "Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers" or for being involved in various documentaries about 1980s film franchises. He would appear to love that 1980s slasher feel, and (if so) it definitely comes through here. Although ostensibly a haunted house story, this is really a slasher at heart.

The film opens with a pulse-pounding score, superior gore effects and a dazzling cameo from horror goddess Danielle Harris. Unfortunately only a cameo rather than anything approaching a "supporting" role, but the rest of the cast is just great. We have powerful acting from Julie Benz (Dexter, Buffy, Two Evil Eyes), and an evil maternal instinct from Fionnula Flanagan (The Others, Trash Fire).

What sells the film more than anything is the cinematography, as the colorization is rich, and provides a nice palette against which to tell a moving story. The apartment offers up the best possible use of space -- sometimes overly spacial and intricately ornate, sometimes claustrophobic, and with a few nods to other horror classics such as "The Shining" and even "Psycho". The exterior aerial shots look great, and it left me wondering if this is a real building or if some crafty CGI is used.

In recent years, public discourse was concerned about the so-called surveillance state, and those fears come to life here. We even have secrets behind the walls (reminiscent of "Crawlspace") and a plot twist that ties this (fictional) film to the upcoming (factual) "Devil in the White City". Although this story of murder and disappearance could be in any era, this surveillance aspect makes it especially timely, even if not intended by the writers.

I highly recommend "Havenhurst". Though it seems to have been pushed back a year, it will be an early strong contender for great horror films of 2017. The film should be available widely starting on February 10, 2017.