Twenty years after a tragic accident during a high school production of the play, The Gallows, the same school is staging the play once more. Some students break into the school at night to sabotage the play only to discover that the school, or is it the play itself, might be haunted.....
The basic plot described above, that of a tragic event of the past coming back to haunt or take revenge on the present, is one that comes up specifically in the horror genre in two sub genres, the supernatural or the slasher film. The Gallows is an attempt at a supernatural/slasher crossover shot in the style of found footage film and despite some issues is an effective one.
For a good horror film to be effective, you have to care for the characters. If you get the audience to do that, then they will care what happens to them. Plus, of course, your film has to be scary too.
One the first part of this, The Gallows does have an issue. One of the characters, Ryan, comes over as very annoying from the beginning, which is a problem when the main story begins, as you don't care about him. But, thankfully the other characters do make up for this.
But on the other part, does the film scare you so on that level it worked for me. As I keep repeating any film can have a jump scene that works if it gets the timing right. But if you can make your film atmospheric, then combined with the jump scenes, then you can have an effective horror film. On that level, The Gallows does work well.
The co-writers and directors, Travis Cluff and Chris Lofing do stage some great scenes, one of which was the trailer that was in cinemas, which is still an effective moment in the film. The do create a building sense of dread and tension throughout which does pay off with an effective, if slightly predictable ending.
The Gallows is part of the found footage sub genre. On the whole, I enjoy found footage horror films, even if the idea of still filming as the terrors occur does seem ridiculous at times. However, Cluff and Lofing do try to do something a little different at moments. We see a scene from one side of a door from a camera phone, while we see after, the same scene from the other side from a different one. It does allow for some tense, creepy moments. However it's not a totally new for the genre. The Spanish horror [REC] 2 does do something similar albeit not quite in the same way.
But as a story, I'm not sure it totally works in the found footage format. Like several films in this sub genre have done recently, such as As Above So Below or The Borderlands, the use of the other camera angles does make you question the decision to make the film that way. However, despite this issue, the footage is well 'shot' and thanks to clever work from the directors, they do stage some effective scenes.
What does suffer though is the ending. To be honest, I saw it, or at least parts of it coming. But to be fair, while it maybe be a little predictable, it still is a good one, with the little epilogue also being effective.
The cast of unknowns, Reese Mishler, Pfeifer Brown, Ryan Shoos and Cassidy Gifford are pretty good in the film, even if the characters themselves aren't the most likeable at times and they do convince as the terror and tension builds.
Blumhouse Productions, of which The Gallows is one, have a growing reputation for making good, solid horror or genre films. Some of their films include the Insidious films, the Paranormal Activity series, Sinister and The Purge films. I'm a fan of their films, which for the most part I have really enjoyed. They know the type of films they and the audience want to make and see and The Gallows fits into this. It may not be among their best film but it is a solid one.
The Gallows doesn't break new ground story wise, or in the found footage format. But and it is a big one, it does manage to be creepy and scary at times. As a result, despite it's flaws I liked the film. If a horror film does manage to be scary, then it is doing its job.
And on that level, The Gallows works.
Rating - 6/10
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