When a found footage horror movie is bad, it's boring and unimpressive. When it's great, it's fresh, different, and memorable. The 2014 film The Houses October Built is a perfect example of how great this horror subgenre can be. It's a hidden gem kind of film that was written by two of the main actors and was screened at the Telluride Horror Show in Colorado.
The Houses October Built definitely didn't get the attention that it should have when it came out. The film has a 60% rating on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer and a low Audience Score of only 31% from over 1,000 ratings. However, if found footage horror movies are looking for a unique story, they should watch The Houses October Built and they will be very entertained.
What Is The Houses October Built About?
Found footage horror movies work well when they are creative, genuinely scary, and unexpected. The Houses October Built feels compelling and different from other movies in this subgenre. The movie follows five friends named Jeff (Jeff Larson), Mikey (Mikey Roe), Bobby (Bobby Roe), Zack (Zack Andrews), and Brandy (Brandy Schaefer) who go on a road trip. They want to go to a group of haunted houses in October and make a movie about them. This seems like a fun and exciting idea and proves that the characters are brave and artistically inclined.
One of the haunted houses, Blue Skelton, turns out to be super terrifying. Bobby and Brandy are the most nervous about filming, as they find something disturbing and disgusting in the home. And several people threaten Jeff, which worries him. It's interesting to see how each character responds to the horrors happening in front of them. Since they put on a brave front at the beginning of the film, no one wants to look that scared, even if they actually are.
It can be rare to find truly compelling horror movie main characters in a found footage horror movie. The focus is often on the setting and shaky camera work and the attempt to make it feel like a story that could actually happen. That is definitely true here. While The Houses October Built is an entertaining ride, the characters aren't quite as well-crafted as they could be. However, that doesn't take away from how unnerving and creepy the movie is.
While some found footage horror movies are overrated, The Houses October Built never feels boring or disappointing. Throughout the entire movie, it's unclear if there is a real threat or if this is all part of the haunted house.
What Makes The Houses October Built Good?
Like other underrated found footage horror movies, The Houses October Built offers up many surprises. It's the setting that makes it so fun to watch. There are many horror movies with great settings, like House Of Wax and Scream. And when comparing The Houses October Built to the 2019 film Haunt, which also takes place at a haunted house, it's easy to see how original and fresh this one feels.
Haunt is about Harper (Katie Stevens) and her friends, who go to a haunted house on Halloween night and are terrorized and hurt. In contrast, The Houses October Built is just as eerie and menacing, but in a subtler way. The five friends aren't sure that they are in danger until further into the story. And that tension is what makes the movie work so well.
Is There A Sequel To The Houses October Built?
The sequel The Houses October Built 2 was released in 2017. It follows the same characters from the first movie. This time, the friend group Jeff, Mikey, Bobby, Zack and Brandy are revealed to be alive. While it seemed like they died at the end of the first movie, they are totally fine... physically, at least. The friends are freaked out by what they experienced. But they decide to go to some haunted houses so they can get over their fears.
The Houses October Built 2 has a surprising plot twist at the end of the movie. It also lives up to any expectations that fans had from the original movie. While some horror movies didn't need sequels, The Houses October Built is a lot of fun. Since a haunted house will always be a classic setting, there could be even more movies in the franchise and it would be great.
The Houses October Built 2 does exactly what a sequel should in an ideal world. It takes the same familiar characters from the original movie and puts them in a similar situation... yet something that is just different enough to keep things interesting. It offers up real scares. And it has a few surprises up its sleeve. Any horror fan looking for two great found footage movies should definitely check these both out.