Haunt (Blu-ray) (2014)

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General		Extras
Category	Horror	Trailer-x3 for other releases
Rating
Year Of Production	2014
Running Time	85:26
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Ads Then Menu
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	Mac Carter
Studio Distributor	Eagle Entertainment	Starring	Harrison Gilbertson Liana Liberato Jacki Weaver Ione Skye Brian Wimmer Danielle Chuchran Ella Harris
Case	Standard Blu-ray
RPI	?	Music	Reinhold Heil

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English DTS HD Master Audio 5.1
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	2.40:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	1080p
Original Aspect Ratio	2.35:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	None	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

     Right from the opening scene of Haunt we know that this is a story about a haunted house; we see a man connecting with the dead by means of a box with a short wave radio type interior after which he is possessed and dies. Then, with a voiceover, we see a flashback to the fate of last family that lived in the house, including the death of the father and three children, leaving only the mother (Jacki Weaver) alive. She sells the house to another family; Emily and Alan Asher (Ione Skye, Brian Wimmer) and their three children, the eldest Sara (Danielle Chuchran) who is about to go to college, shy 18 year old Evan (Harrison Gilbertson) and youngest daughter Anita (Ella Harris).

     Very soon after moving into the house the children start to sense strange things are around although the parents are oblivious. This escalates when Evan meets Sam (Liana Liberato), a young woman his age, alone and crying in the woods. Sam seems to be living with an abusive father nearby but declines Evan’s sympathy and help. But next night Sam steals into Evan’s room and the two start a tentative relationship. Sam seems to know a lot about the house, including where the mysterious box we saw before is hidden, and she persuades Evan to try to contact the previous occupants. They succeed, but of course there are consequences.

     Haunt is the feature debut of director Mac Carter and writer Andrew Barrer, who add another film to a very packed haunted house genre. There is really nothing original about the plotting, or the direction which uses sudden cut away frames to the ghosts, shadows seen in corridors, past flashbacks, strange POVs, and loud music cues to create scares. Only a couple of scares really work but the film drags you in because Carter manages to keep control of the material at all times and the film builds its chills and tension nicely due to a combination of decent dialogue, excellent acting by the two leads and by not overplaying its hand.

     Both Australian Harrison Gilbertson (who won an AFI award for Best Young Actor for Beneath Hill 60 (2010)), as the trusting, introspective and naïve Evan, and Texan born Liana Liberato, as a enigmatic young woman with a dark past, are natural and believable and work well together while veteran actress Jacki Weaver makes the most of a small part and provides one of the best startle moments in the film. Haunt is not a gory film; what violence there is occurs mostly out of frame and the film relies on the tension and atmosphere created by snow covered Utah exteriors and shadowy corridors. Unlike many low budget first features, the dialogue is precise and genuine and the film’s plotting is sure, not wasting any of its 85 minute running time.

     Many horror films are let down during their final reels when the filmmakers do not know how to provide a resolution to interesting set ups; Haunt is not one of them! It may not cover any new territory but the performances are excellent and the clues towards the twist at the end are scattered appropriately throughout the film. This means that part of the twist is not unexpected, but another part results in the film not quite resolving itself as one expects.

Video

     Haunt is presented in an aspect ratio of 2.40:1, close to the 2.35:1 original ratio, in 1080p using the MPEG-4 AVC code.

     Except for a little bit of noise reduction, this is a very nice looking print. Detail is very good, blacks rock solid and, as required in a haunted house film, shadow detail is excellent, allowing us to see what the filmmakers want us to see. Colours are natural, but subdued. Some interior scenes under lights have that yellowish digital look, but night time exteriors are crystal clear with white lights. Contrast and brightness are consistent, skin tones fine.

     No subtitles are provided.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

     English DTS-HD MA 5.1 is the only audio option.

     The audio is not aggressive but delivers the sound design a horror film requires. Dialogue was clear, centred and easy to understand. The surrounds and rears were used mainly for the subtle sounds of whispers during the séances or creaking floorboards, with loud noise during the visions / flashbacks. The sound design also added a bump when an apparition flashed through the frame. The score by Reinhold Heil was suitably atmospheric, adding sound to scares; it was well represented in the mix, aiding the visuals without ever seeming too loud. The sub-woofer did not draw attention to itself but added bass effectively to scares and the music.

     There are no lip synchronisation issues.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Trailers

     Trailers for Two Men in Town (2:14), Poker Night (1:38) and The Devil’s Hand (2:15) play on start-up. They cannot be selected from the menu.

     There is currently no Region A US or Region B UK release of Haunt listed on Amazon. The only Blu-ray release listed is the German Region B which only has the film trailer, plus a few other trailers, as extras. Hardly worth importing, buy local.

     Haunt is a haunted house film that relies on chills, atmosphere and character rather than gore. There is little that is original but the film works due an intelligent script, slowly building tension and excellent performances by Australians Harrison Gilbertson, Jacki Weaver, and Texan Liana Liberato. Haunt is well worth seeking out for those interested in the genre; it is by no means the worst example around!

     The video and audio are good. There are no extras, but there is nothing in other regions either.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall