I am an expert horror watcher. I know what works and what doesn't.
It must be more difficult to write a horror movie than I imagine, because I think most people are not twisted enough to understand what makes a good horror as well as us horror fans.
I don't mind a bit of dark humor, but once you go down the path of parody, even a little, you are making a horror comedy, not a horror movie. This movie skirts that line.
Another thing horror writers need to understand is that we the audience need to feel there is SOME chance the protagonists will survive, and for a plausible reason. If the Big Bad can just kill anyone or everyone, any time it wants to, then the rest of the movie is just about thinking about creative kills, the intrigue of how to get out of it, how to survive, is gone. This makes for a bad movie.
The other thing you don't want to do in a horror movie is exposition. This movie is filled with exposition.
This movie flirts with horror, then does not deliver. It also flirts with sexy nudity, then does not deliver. Do the writers not understand?
All that being said, I still want to encourage people to make more of these independent horrors, but don't be NICE, don't be typical, its not going to work.
If you want a superior "trapped in an abandoned building", supernatural horror, watch Grave Encounters (2011). Its a movie that takes itself seriously as horror.
