One of the better holiday themed releases this year, Haunt takes a little time in setup but then delivers some hardcore tension and thrills. This movie plants early seeds, lulling the viewer into an easy zone of comfortable expectation before upending those expectations and escalating hard. While the characters begin the night having fun and thrilling experiences there is an ominous tone and threat. The initial build is spent waiting for the characters to wake up to their plight with the rest of the movie becoming an unrelenting and tension filled hunt. The direction is fantastic aided by a lean and layered script, fantastic sets and convincing practical effects. The characters are your typical college aged horror group, but likable enough and creatively handled, spearheaded by a sympathetic lead. There is not a huge amount of gore but plenty of brutality and implication. Haunt offers nothing particularly new or original, but builds off numerous threads to deliver quality thrills from practical effects and nicely depraved villains.
Haunt (2019)