On October 29, 1993, during a high school stage production of The Gallows, the star of the show, Charlie Grimille (Jesse Cross), dies a horrible death in front of the entire school and his family. Twenty years later, the same high school has decided to recreate The Gallows as a chance to start new and move past the horrific events that took place on stage in the early ‘90’s. The new stars of the show, Reese Houser (Reece Mishler) and Pfiefer Ross (Pfiefer Brown), along with classmates Ryan Shoos (Ryan Shoos) and Cassidy Spilker (Cassidy Gifford) find themselves trapped in the high school just days before the premier of the show. As they struggle to find a way out they come to understand that Charlie’s tragic death is somehow connected to all of them. With a vengeful entity in their midst, they must do everything in their power to escape the haunted school and make it home alive.
Blumhouse Productions has been known, over the past several years, to produce a number of horror films over the course of any given year. They seem to, more than any other horror related production company, pump out films at an immensurate rate. With this, I have personally found that some of these films underdeliver. With the exception of films like Get Out and The Invisible Man, I struggle to recall a Blumhouse film that delivers thrills, scares, good acting and a legitimately acceptable story. The Gallows falls somewhere between the better Blumhouse films and the ones that make you go “hmmm...”
Casting young, unseasoned actors creates its own problems and sometimes makes it difficult for films to come together. The inexperience of the casted talent can shine through and take away from even some of the better developed stories. Sadly, this is the case with Travis Cluff and Chris Lofing’s The Gallows. Each of the four leads struggle to convey the necessary emotions throughout the film, making it difficult for viewers to appreciate the characters and certain plot points. There are moments of brilliance sprinkled throughout the film; in particular, the two female leads are able to convey true horror from time to time. Brown and Gifford’s ability to occasionally deliver saved some pivotal moments and allowed them to be successful.
The most intriguing thing about The Gallows is the fact that Cluff and Lofing incorporate aspects of a number of well-known horror films in their film. Aspects of The Blair Witch Project, The Ring and Insidious all become part of The Gallows and make the film better for some horror fanatics. Parts of the story spark interest, but it feels that there are a number of plot holes present throughout. I struggled to truly appreciate the story as, like I’ve said, there are parts of it that do not make a lot of sense.
The marketing team for The Gallows compared their villain to icons like Jason Vorhees and Freddy Krueger, leading audiences to believe they were in for a thrilling slasher film comparable to horror classics like Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street. This false information makes The Gallows even more disappointing. They set expectations incredibly high and let audiences down. With these expectations, The Gallows is mediocre at best. However, sans those expectations, Blumhouse has developed a horror film that has the potential to be universally accepted. With the recent release of The Gallows Act II, Cluff, Lofing and Blumhouse have the chance to rectify some of the film’s issues. In all honesty, it is up to part two to right the ship and allow The Gallows to be the instant classic that was promised.
Written & Directed by Travis Cluff & Chris Lofing. Starring Reese Mishler, Pfeifer Brown, Ryan Shoos, Cassidy Gifford, Travis Cluff, etc.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/10
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