Writer: Trent Haaga (Screenplay) Paul Johnstone, Ben Parker (Story)
Starring: Phil Brooks, Trieste Kelly Dunn, Sarah Brooks, Elissa Dowling, Karen Woditsch, Travis Delgado, Marshall Bean
Plot: Don Koch tries to renovate a rundown mansion with a sordid history for his growing family, only to learn that the house has other plans.
Runtime: 1 Hour 33 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Twisted Horror
Story: Girl on the Third Floor starts as Don (Phil Brooks) arrives as his new home, looking to prepare it for his wife Liz (Dunn) to move into as they look to start their family, only the house needs more work than Don expected and a local woman Sarah (Sarah Brooks) only complicates Don’s life after a one night stand.
As Don spends more time alone in the house, the bigger mystery about what is within the walls comes to life, one that is known to have consumed people in the past.
Thoughts on Girl on the Third Floor
Characters – Don Kock is a businessman, husband and father-to-be who is looking to do up a new house for the family. He hasn’t been the best husband cheating on his wife in the past, which makes it easier for him to fall for the tricks of one of the women around this house and he starts seeing strange events around the house. Liz is the pregnant wife who is still in the old place, often on the phone with Don seeing the improvements and troubles he is facing. Sarah is a woman that appears in the house that seduces Don and then won’t leave him alone, she has a past with the house, which is why she is drawn to returning.
Performances – Phil Brooks better known as CM Punk in his first leading role in film is great, he gives the natural reactions to everything, being a character that isn’t as good as most leading figures in horror. Trieste Kelly Dunn spends most of the time on video chat, once she is around, she doesn’t put a foot wrong, neither do the rest of the cast with Sarah Brooks being the seductive figure through the film.
Story – The story follows a husband who is preparing his family’s new home, only to get an unwanted guest, which leads to him falling to temptation again and the restoration becoming more complicated than he imagined. This is an interesting story, with the biggest part being that we have a male lead going through the haunted house experience, too often we have the woman or child, with the male figure busy during the moments, seeing Don go through everything is a nice twist on the traditional ideas. The story does give us a hint of the outcome, which does help the story flow and give us an ending that makes sense.
Horror – The horror in this film comes from the different events around the house, each one will become more disturbing and isn’t afraid to shy away from the blood and gore.
Settings – The film does remain in the one house, this is everything we need for a haunted house movie, with the house adding to the tension through the film.
Scene of the Movie – Don returns.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Everything does follow the traditional formula of how the events unfold.
Final Thoughts – This is a fun gory horror that does get plenty of strong moments of blood and does twist the lead from the normal in horror, even if it does follow the same story arc.
Overall: Horror Fans Enjoy.