The Gallows

From the same production company that had cinemas screaming in fear with Paranormal Activity and Insidious comes the latest found footage style fright fest: The Gallows. This relation, however, is as close as this film gets to having audiences running in fear.

The Gallows takes four archetypal high school kids, each armed with either a video camera or their mobile phone, locks them in their creepy school theatre and lets the horror ensue.

Sadly, in the opening act where we are supposed to build a connection with the characters, the only emotion I felt was annoyance and frankly couldn’t wait to see each person slowly picked off.

The found footage genre has to be very careful with the particular shots they use, so as not come across as over contrived. Unfortunately it seems little thought was put into occasional moments, with some shots feeling awkward and unnatural.

With all of these factors in mind, it’s easy to see why The Gallows resorts to overused horror tropes and loud ‘jump scares’ rather than building real terror or suspense.

Star Rating: *1/2