THE INHABITANTS (2015)

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Directed by Michael Rasmussen, Shawn Rasmussen
Written by Michael Rasmussen, Shawn Rasmussen
Starring Elise Couture, Michael Reed, India Pearl, Vasilios Asimakos, Danny Bryck, Judith Chaffee, Erica Derrickson, Edmund Donovan, Victoria Nugent, Rebecca Whitehurst

Incorporating hands-on, old school scares makes THE INHABITANTS a charming little ghost story.

THE DISCO EXORCIST’s Michael Reed and newcomer Elsie Couture play newlyweds Dan and Jessica, who fulfill their dream of opening their own bed and breakfast when they purchase an old mansion once owned by a women accused of witchcraft. The house holds many secrets, including a monitor room spying on the guests, passages behind the walls, and a few ghosts with intentions of possession.

While the film really doesn’t bring a lot new to the table, THE INHABITANTS does do the chills and thrills rather capably and scarily. I found myself endeared to this film much like I love films like THE HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL and THE HAUNTING. It does the whole bump in the night thing we all have seen time and again, but because the film does such a good job of introducing us to the characters and the capability of the actors involved, I found myself more interested in this film that I thought I would be. There are some really solid scares throughout, as the Rasmussen brothers know how to pace out a really tense scene and don’t find the need to inject the jump scares that modern horror is riddled with these days.

Again, Reed and Couture are really convincing here. Both play the happy newlyweds well and seem comfortable with one another. If there is a flaw with their performance it’s that after Jessica is possessed, Dan is somewhat dim when it comes to catching on that something is amiss. Sure, she’s not climbing the walls and her head isn’t rotating, but something is definitely off and the film goes on a bit long before Dan catches up with the program. This only services the story and distances the viewers (me) from caring about a character the film worked so hard to care for in the beginning.

That said, there’s something undeniably cool about the traditional scares in THE INHABITANTS. Those weary of theatrical horror releases with all of their loud piano bangs and fluffy jump scares should check out this film for how a real haunted house film works.