Many horror fans enjoy the genre for its fear factor, masterful use of practical effects, and gore; others enjoy fun horror films of a slightly lower quality. Brendan Rudnicki’s most recent film, “The House on Haunted Grounds,” is one of the latest additions to this category of horror.
“The House on Haunted Grounds” follows a group of amateur paranormal investigators on their final expedition as they venture into the abandoned home of a deceased murderer. The group runs an online ghost-hunting show, which leads to the film presenting itself as “found footage.”
The found-footage horror genre was popularized by the 1999 film “The Blair Witch Project” and has become a staple across many genres. Found footage often provides a unique visual style and adds a personal touch to the narrative. “The House on Haunted Grounds” falls short in both areas. Its visual direction is often bland and uninspired, failing to keep viewers visually engaged. The film also lacks the personal touch characteristic of found footage, as viewers have no connection to the characters or their motivations. With a runtime of only 70 minutes, the film has limited time to develop its story. Rather than overloading the film with numerous plot points or extending its length, it omits many potential story beats that could have made it more fully developed.
Another advantage of the found-footage genre is that it allows filmmakers to develop the plot primarily through visuals rather than dialogue, showing rather than telling. “The House on Haunted Grounds” rarely uses visuals to build the film’s mystery. Instead, it relies on the cast to deliver exposition dumps. This approach might work if viewers cared more about the show the characters are making and if the actors’ performances were stronger, but the leading actors’ performances lack in several areas.
The characters are among the most underwhelming aspects of this lackluster film. They lack depth, and their motivations are largely absent from the story. In addition to weak writing, the performances by the few cast members leave much to be desired. Much of the dialogue comes across as flat and emotionless; even in scenes where one actor delivers a decent performance, a weak performance by a co-star often undermines the scene.
The film attempts to add small bits of conflict and give arcs for the characters in the final act, but it fails to fully commit to this throughout the majority of the film. This leads to the conclusion feeling underwhelming, confusing and rushed.
“The House on Haunted Grounds” attempts to create interpersonal drama by framing the events as the final episode of the cast’s series. In theory, this could generate interesting tension, especially with one team member, a former fan, unaware that this is the final episode. However, the film does not give the characters enough time to develop or for viewers to care about them, so this conflict fails to leave a meaningful impact on the story.
There are many horror films of such low quality that they become surprisingly enjoyable to watch. “The House on Haunted Grounds” could have been one of those. It might have developed its own cult following and been considered a success despite its shortcomings. Compared to those films, the biggest issue with “The House on Haunted Grounds” is its lack of self-awareness. Many of those movies acknowledge their flaws and embrace their campy, over-the-top qualities, which makes them entertaining. The film could have benefited from understanding what it is and using that to its advantage, but unfortunately, it failed to do so.
“The House on Haunted Grounds” is a new addition to the found-footage horror genre that falls short on many key elements. The film lacks the genre-defining, intriguing visuals and the personal connection to the characters that define the genre. From rushed, poorly developed conflicts to characters viewers don’t care about, “The House on Haunted Grounds” fails to capitalize on the qualities that make found-footage horror compelling. The film had the potential to be an intriguing addition to the genre, or even a horror movie so bad that watching it is fun, but lazy filmmaking and weak characters leave the audience wishing for their hour back.
