Haunter (2013)

            Good evening, fiends!  Last movie up for review on this fine Teen Scream Tuesday is Haunter (2013), directed by Vincenzo Natali.  This film begins with viewers meeting Lisa, a girl who appears to be living the same exact day over and over again (similar to Bill Murray’s Groundhog Day, if you will).  Her family is on the same repetitive cycle with her, only they seem completely oblivious to it.  She is, as she calls it, ‘awake,’ in that she is the only one of the family aware that she is dead.  As the movie continues the creaks and other strange sounds in her home appear to be both other dead people as well as the living that are currently occupying her home.  I have to say I really dig the way this film is shot from the perspective of a dead person that is ‘haunted’ by the living.  We are used to seeing ghosts irritated by the presence of the living, but never haunted by their presence quite in this way.  Lisa notices there is another presence in the house, a malicious presence that is both male and appears to be the cause of Lisa’s death, though she isn’t sure how he is connected with them.  When Lisa attempts to contact the living people in the home to warn them of the presence and tell them to get out of the house, the presence appears to her as a man and tells her to stay away from the living and to not shake things up or she will suffer the consequences. 

            Another thing I noticed I fancied right off the top with this movie is the cinematography.  The director and crew really came together and this movie is beautifully shot from start to finish.  The acting was decent as well, and the characters were mostly believable. Most of the actual horror was done with CGI (which as loyal readers I’m sure you know I’m not a huge fan of), so it was not perhaps the most innovative when it came to the effects, but it still managed to be a bit spooky from time to time.  The CGI was tolerable because of the other aspects of the film that already tickled my sensibilities, so I rolled with it.  I honestly cannot tell you anything about the score, aside from that it must be quite un-memorable because I cannot remember a thing about it other than I’m sure it was there in the background somewhere. 

            The Body Count was somewhat difficult in this film, since there were quite a lot of dead girls buried in that home prior to the family of four that we know for sure is dead.  But for lack of a better count, I’ll say 5 plus (it appeared the killer had been burying ‘missing’ girls in the basement for something around two decades).  Number of Killers?  Hard to say, but I will say at least 2.  Boob Count? Zero. Cheap Thrills?  One.  Actual Chills? A couple.  Raven’s Scream Meter Says: 3.5 out of 5 Screams.  This one grabbed me from start to finish, and even though I had to get past the CGI I felt like it was worth it.  I greatly appreciate your readership, and hope you thoroughly enjoyed the review!  Please feel free to comment/discuss below.  Xx ~ Raven