The movie revolves around Ellison, a crime-novelist, and his wife, son, and daughter. The family moves to a house, unknowing that each family that has lived there before them has died from unexplainable causes. The writer moves his family there in hopes to have a new breakthrough novel inspired by the strange happenings and disappearances in the area. While looking for inspiration in the attic (a stereotypical place for the paranormal to start happening in movies), Ellison discovers a box full of old film reels that look like average home movies. Watching the films is soon realized to be a huge mistake, as all of the films end up being snuff films of how each family before them has died. Our hero now has a new goal: to find out who the mysterious, shady demon figure in the videos is…and what he wants.

The movie has the majority of your cliche horror flick criteria. Creepy scenes? There’s a box full of them, and that is just the tip of the iceberg. Blood? By the gallons. This is not for anyone squeamish (there’s hangings, people being cut, ran over by lawn mowers, axe murders, etc.). Creepy children? Of course, and they are not there to play hide-and-go-seek. The movie has PLENTY of “jump scares,” or scenes with scary images or loud noises that will make a grown man’s heart start pounding. However, these elements are incorporated in such a way that there’s a balance and even though you know it’s going to happen, it still makes you shriek when it does. The plot takes several twists and makes up for the stereotypical scare tactics.

In short, as much as I was expecting for it to be a pathetic attempt at an idea that has worked before (a family moving into a house and discovering the paranormal), I was pleased to be proven wrong. Pretty decent horror flick, and I would recommend it to anyone wanting a good scare. I’d give it a 6/10. It’s not as corny as something like Dead Silence  or The Possession, but it’s nowhere close to something like The Shining.