Writer: Shannon Holiday, James Klass (Screenplay)
Starring: Becca Hirani, Andrew Hollingworth, Faye Goodwin, Lorena Andrea, Tara MacGowran, Oliver Ebsworth
Plot: A couple and their young daughter move into a lake house that remained unsold due to the brutal, ritualistic murder of a family years ago. Soon, they realize that a dormant evil has awakened, a possessive force that has preyed on unsuspecting families like theirs for centuries.
Tagline – Lucifer will rise.
Runtime: 1 Hour 36 Minutes
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Strong Low Budget Horror
Story: House of Elm Lake starts as family Hayley (Hirani), Eric (Hollingworth) and daughter Penny (Goodwin) move into a new lake house in hopes of starting a fresh, they have had their own difficulties in the past and this will start things on the right path.
Well that is the hope, it turns out that the house has a history of murder with the previous owners having the story of a family that had the husband kill the rest of the family. Now after they move in Eric starts acting differently leaving Hayley to make sure her daughter is safe.
Thoughts on House of Elm Lake
Characters – Hayley is the mother of Penny and partner to Eric, she has been going through a tough time while trying to stay strong for Penny and keep the family together, this side of her character is created well, you understand her trust issues, my only question about her character is whether she has a job or not, because we know Eric doesn’t have one at the moment and this house doesn’t seem affordable for to unemployed people. Eric is the partner of Hayley, he is coming to get a caretaker like job around the lake, he has made a mistake in the past which bought strain on the relationship, he starts to change as he remains in the house. Penny is the daughter of the couple, she is enjoying the idea of moving to a new house becoming the target of the evil presence.
Performances – Becca Hirani in the leading role is good through the film, we believe her terror and her trust issues we see her character go through. Andrew Hollingworth does well through the film where for a large part we see him balance two different sides to him. The rest of the cast do well, they know their roles in the film and never make themselves the center of attention away from the leads.
Story – The story here does bring us into the idea of a new house with a past which does have a paranormal side. This seems generic which is fine it works, where this one does something different, is that we do keep everything in the home, we see a different type of possession happening which doesn’t focus on the woman being the easy target for evil. We can’t help but see the flaws which come in horror moments we always know, we could have decisions to stop certain things happening, like just leaving as there would have been a place to go.
Horror – The horror used in the film is good throughout, mostly because we know what to expect and we do get moments which shock.
Settings – The film takes place in a lake house which gives our characters a harder chance to escape and having help coming for them.
Special Effects – The effects are mixed for me, the visual material are great, with the practical effects looking flawless, the sound editing gets annoying, because the demonic voice isn’t something you can see being believable for long enough.
Scene of the Movie – The Babysitter’s night.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The cheesy sounding demonic voice.
Final Thoughts – For a movie that is for £3000 this is very good, we get strong acting, great effects and good story that goes out of its way to be different. This film shows everything you want, the potential you can achieve with the budget, now lets see what this team can do with a bigger budget.
Overall: Horror fans enjoy this one.
Rating