When Auna Rue transfers to a prestigious new acting school, she encounters a malevolent spirit after participating in a viral challenge.
Twenty years ago the first found-footage horror film, “The Blair Witch Project,” inspired countless imitations and parodies. I find some found footage effectively chilling in its mockumentary approach but in general, the camerawork can be nauseating and most characters are thinly written. I haven’t seen the first “Gallows” film since I hadn’t heard anything remotely positive about it. There was little fanfare for the initial outing but to my astonishment, I saw it made $43 million on a $100,000 budget at the box office so not surprisingly, the unstoppable Blumhouse production company wanted to churn out another potential cash cow. Blumhouse has been a powerful company since their initial hit “Paranormal Activity” and have produced acclaimed films like “Get Out” and less noteworthy films like “Truth or Dare.” Rumor has it that the “The Gallows: Act II” did so poorly with test audiences that Blumhouse kept this dud buried for over two years, now that’s scary!
The film opens on a bunch of insufferable teens discussing how a haunted play titled “The Gallows” wreaked havoc on their high school more than once over the years. The loudest boy follows his dumb friend outside and they are both comically killed by a swing set. Flash forward to Auna Rue (Emma Horvath), an aspiring actress that’s just transferred to the prestigious haunted school. Auna is like most teens, desperate for attention and willing to make questionable choices to achieve her dreams. A viral challenge is making the rounds on social media platforms where the subject is compelled to conjure a malevolent spirit, seriously, that’s the premise of this movie. Auna’s viral video is a superstitious sensation and instantly she’s contacted by Charlie, a vengeful spirit that promises fame if she’s willing to make a sacrifice.
As we near the end of 2019, I recently submitted my top films of the year. I had a hard time choosing since this has been one of the best years for film in quite some time. That being said, I can safely say “The Gallows: Act II” is the worst film of 2019. Co-directors Travis Cluff and Chris Lofing show a lack of competence with their atrocious camera angles and inability to capture a single moment of tension. The screenplay feels strung together so it’s no surprise that Blumhouse kept this in the dark for so long. I could tell there were a lot of cuts because this probably would have been a totally different movie with more plot and character development but the last thing I would want is to watch more footage of this mess.
Available on Blu-ray™ Combo Pack (plus DVD and Digital) and DVD December 24th
