Whether ghosts or zombies What can draw the viewer’s attention to the quite ordinary horror movie of 2006 called “House of Zombie” after eight years since its premiere? Answer: participation in the filming of the most popular actress Chloe Grace Moretz, which at the time of filming "House of Zombie" was a very young nine-year-old girl, but has already managed to go a considerable cinematic way, starring in two horror films ("The Amityville Horror", "Room 6"). But, whatever it was in our time, when it is Moretz is the focus of any plot in which she takes part, in the mid-2000s she was just a supporting actress who completed a more mature acting ensemble involved in leading roles. This is what happened at the House of Zombie. Well, as for the main inspirers of this tape, one acquaintance with their creative way does not inspire much confidence in their works. The director of the film was J. With Cardone, filming faded video sequels of cult paintings (“8 mm – 2”), as well as producing all sorts of sequels, like “Sniper – 2.3”, “Vampires 3”, which only overshadow the good memory of their cheerful predecessors. For the script of the film “House of Zombie” was answered by none other than “Boaz Davidson”, best known as the producer of the franchise “The Expendables”. However, few people have noticed that Davidson is also a prolific writer. Only here all his works result in such lost pictures as “Snake Man”, “Mosquito Man” or “Larva Man”, which can not even laugh their viewer, like some cheap, but brisk thrash from the studio “Troma”. Naturally, with the participation of such ambiguous filmmakers, it was simply not necessary to count on a masterpiece of the horror genre. However, with all this, “House of Zombie” was far from such a failed tape, as it seemed initially.
So, the plot of the film tells us the story of Karen (Laurie Hering), who, along with her two daughters, a high school student Sarah (Scout Taylor-Compton) and a very young Emma (Moretz), goes to Pennsylvania, where the deceased father of the family bequeathed them a dilapidated mansion located within a small, lost town in the forests, where a thriving mine was previously located. Arriving at the site, the heroines did not expect that their home would be somehow associated with the terrible tragedy of 1913, when under the rubble of the mine, the children of immigrants who worked with their parents for a wealthy industrialist died. The first alarm bell sounded for Karen when, literally on the very first night, she dreamed of ghosts-cannibals. Well, the real heat of the situation occurred at the moment when little Emma became friends with the invisible girl Mary (Heli Grekova), whose abode is located just in that abandoned mine.
At first, the picture “House of Zombie” is a classic story about a house with ghosts who after a terrible tragedy can not find peace. This is facilitated by the well-chosen entourage of what is happening - a long-empty, rotten mansion directly bordering on an impenetrable forest, a nearby abandoned mine, the path from which leads to the house of the main characters, sinister old photos of children who come to their potential victims in their dreams. Also, expect the mandatory oblique views of old-timers on new arrivals and a chilling warning that the mansion is clearly cursed. However, the creators of the picture did not go in a simple way, and the main feature of their project was made by ghosts with zombie elements! That is, spirits that came out of the underground depths every night go around all the nearby forest areas and destroy absolutely all living individuals, whether they are people or animals. To be honest, such a combination seems at least far-fetched, because it is clear to anyone that a disembodied spirit is simply not able to feed on a material product. If we assume that spirits are actually zombies, then the logical question arises – why their thinking is not obscured by the decaying likeness of a brain for a century and they repeatedly come out of their abode in search of a very specific revenge. However, I am even willing to accept the fact of intelligent ghosts with decaying flesh, but I cannot accept the fact that they eat raw meat. This does not even explain the background of the tragedy in the mine, where the circumstances of the deaths of children are revealed in detail. At the same time, there is no hint of bloodlust, hunger and animal hatred of the victims for everyone.
As for the acting work, they are not distinguished by anything outstanding. The much-publicized Chloe Moretz has little screen time here, and her role is simply designed to influence the behavior of her mother and sister, who are trying to find a way out of a supernatural situation. The heroines of Laura Hering and Scout Taylor-Compton play quite professionally, but there is no highlight in them at all. Their relationship is a classic conflict of fathers and children, when the older generation acts out of necessity, and the younger can not accept unsightly changes in their favorite everyday life. Thus, in addition to the illogical zombie horror, the filmmakers decided to fill their film with a real social drama, which is woven with mental trauma, difficult financial condition, and the search for love and support within their own family. And all these hardships fall on the shoulders of the three main characters. It is a pity that neither they nor the director and the screenwriter were able to achieve the overall result of the necessary sharpness of the narrative, which for a long time would enter the memory of the audience.
As a result, I want to say that "House of Zombie" is an ordinary passing picture of the genre, which can easily be missed by your attention. You don’t have to watch it for fans of Chloe Moretz. Still, this project can not be called her benefit, and the heyday of the actress’ career will come only a few years after this film, when she will be entrusted with more adult roles. But if you've reviewed all the best examples of haunted house stories, then "House of Zombie" can be taken into account. And there is even a kind of stupid, but still originality. By the way, the original picture is called as "Wicked Little Things", which means "Small evil things (something)". It would be better for domestic localizers to leave the original name, so as not to introduce the viewer into the fog.
5 out of 10
