Dark House

Director Victor Salva will likely never read a review of one of his films that doesn’t mention his previous child molestation conviction, and question the fact that he is allowed to make movies at all. It’s not a fun story to re-tell (go Google the details if you must), but suffice to say even though he did his time behind bars, Hollywood seemed much more forgiving. Powder (1995) was a high profile success but brought attention to his crimes once again – on a Disney produced film, no less. Jeepers Creepers (2001) and its sequel in 2003 created one of the most interesting franchise monsters in a long time. And Salva seemed to have some momentum, only to step back into the shadows (too melodramatic?).

But here he is again with Dark House, a direct-to-video, on-demand release about a troubled twenty-something whose search for his past leads to a broken-down estate in the middle of the woods. The only resident is a shaggy squatter (Tobin Bell of the Saw franchise) who warns him to get lost or else. Or else involves a team of synchronized axe murderers who run about on all fours. These bizarre baddies are the most memorable part of a film that has so many supernatural layers it finally collapses under its own weight.

Mixing bits of Texas Chainsaw, Legion, and oddly enough, Adam Sandler’s Little Nicky, the story starts corny, evolves into confusing and takes the long road back to corny-town again. But Salva, who proved himself a very capable horror/action director with the Jeepers Creepers films, manages to edit together some intense sequences along the way involving those aforementioned axe-wielding hobos.

Tobin Bell appears in only three scenes, but owns them all, even when he’s called upon to deliver the ridiculous exposition speech in the finale. The rest of the cast is standard VOD fare, working from a first-draft quality script co-written by Salva (who slips in an uncomfortable bro-mance for the lead character, which doesn’t do his reputation any favors). Dark House might have some moments that prove the man has talent, but it’s not enough to forgive and forget.

Judged on its own merits, Dark House is probably better than most of the on-demand horror out there and would make for a streaming good time on a Saturday night. The blu-ray looks excellent but only includes a brief bit of bonus behind-the-scenes footage. Unfortunately for Salva, probably the less he talks the better. Jeepers Creepers 3 is in pre-production, you know.