Twenty years ago Charlie Grimille lost his life during a
school play due to a horrible accident.
Now on this anniversary the school has decided to honor his memory by
remounting the exact same play that took his life. This is the background for The Gallows (2015) a found footage film
that takes play in the world of live theatre as depicted by high school
students. Reese (Reese Mishler) is the
star of the school play “The Gallows” but unfortunately he’s not a very good
actor and instead of making a complete fool of himself on opening night he is
talked into sabotaging the set by his friends (Ryan Shoos, Pfeifer Brown, and
Cassidy Gifford). They decide to break
into the school the night before opening night to make sure that the play will
not be able to open. After destroying
the set they soon realize that they are trapped in the school with a malevolent
force that may be the vengeful spirit of Charlie Grimille out for his revenge.
Written & directed by Travis Cluff and Chris Lofing this
is actually a smarter film than you may think.
This could have easily become your run of the mill found footage slasher
film but Cluff and Lofing create a genuine mystery surrounding Charlie
Grimille’s original death and how it relates to current times and everyone
involved. The film not only relies on
your traditional jump scares but there is a lot of atmosphere and dread milked
out of the stage theatre setting which makes it another character in the film.
It is a shame that the found footage genre has found its way
on the “outs” with horror fans as there are still several good ones being
produced (despite the fact that there are three times more horrible ones). This is one that while using the conventions
of the style has something to say and does an excellent job in execution.
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