Is The Dead Room A Chilling Supernatural Thriller or a Forgettable Paranormal Flick?

The sub-genre of paranormal investigation is just about dead; however, I decided to give the supernatural, paranormal horror The Dead Room a chance. Oops.

Jason Stutter’s The Dead Room is inspired by an urban legend about an abandoned farmhouse in New Zealand. The film opens with a black screen and scary sound effects. As the viewer, we don’t see anything. We just hear screaming and shuffling. Fast forward, we learn that a family was forced to leave their home due to a demonic spirit residing inside. Right after, we meet a trio of paranormal investigators who are ready to check the house thoroughly. The trio of paranormal investigators consists of a psychic, a technical guy, and a skeptic.

One pretty awesome thing about this film is that it doesn’t use the tired found footage technique. When I first discovered that it wasn’t found footage, I was pretty excited about that. Unfortunately, my excitement was short-lived when the picture devolved into the typical supernatural tropes. Specifically, objects being tossed around, banging on doors, and lurking shadows. Another thing that works with this film is that there’s a real mystery going on with the investigators. Regrettably, The Dead Room is forgettable and almost dull due to the fact that the storyline and scares are conventional. The acting is average; there are no stand-out performances. On the other hand, the scenery outside and inside of the house it’s pretty creepy. The three investigators all carry their own weight and do a decent job making the team look believable.

That’s pretty much The Dead Room, in a nutshell. I watch a lot of paranormal horror films and this one kind of fell in-between the cracks, which is where it should probably stay. It isn’t the worst paranormal horror film I’ve seen, but I wouldn’t watch it again, nor could I recommend it.

Overall, there’s not a lot going on in The Dead Room we haven’t seen before. I recommend watching any other ghost-hunting horror movie. The result will be the same. If you insist on checking it out, The Dead Room is available on DVD.

WICKED RATING: [usr=3]
Title: The Dead Room
Director: Jason Stutter
Writer: Kevin Stevens, Jason Stutter
Stars: Jed Brophy, Jeffrey Thomas, Laura Petersen
Release: 2015
Studio/ Production Co: Centron Pictured
Budget: $1,000,000.00
Language: English
Length: 80 Minutes
Sub-Genre: Thriller, Horror