#Horror (2015)★★☆☆☆

I really wanted to like this movie. The actors are relatively well known and well respected, the concept and story seemed to be good, and the trailer was incredibly promising. Unfortunately…it was a really hard movie to watch, and it completely fell short of all my expectations.

It starts with a loud, colorful opening sequence that I can only describe as…seizure-inducing. The sound effects are jarring, out of place, and completely distracting. It uses weird camera angles at inopportune times, which is at best a distraction, and at worst completely disorienting. The music seems poorly chosen and too loud for the movie.

There wasn’t nearly enough character development for me to know if Timothy Hutton’s character’s breakdown was in or out of character, or for me to feel any sympathy for any of the murder victims. In fact, about halfway through the movie I found myself wishing for death…my own, if not the death of every one of the teenage girls on screen.

Overall, this was a promising concept that looks like it was made as an art school project. It gets in its own way, like a distraction from itself, and renders the whole movie hard to follow and not very entertaining. Watch the trailer instead – it’s the best part of the film.