What to watch this week

Horror. With Katie Stevens, Will Brittain and Lauryn Alisa McClain. Directors: Scott Beck and Bryan Woods. 18HLV.

College student Harper (Stevens) is nursing a black eye after being assaulted by her abusive boyfriend, Sam (Samuel Hunt from Empire), when her roommate, Bailey (McClain), persuades her to come along to a Halloween costume party with pals Angela (God Friended Me’s Shazi Raja) and Mallory (Schuyler Helford).

There they run into classmates Nathan (Brittain) and Evan (Andrew Caldwell), who suggest they go to a so-called “extreme” haunted house in the middle of nowhere.

Instead of heeding their instincts, which might as well be flashing warning lights in big neon signs, they decide to take the ride to the dark side. What follows is a series of jaw-dropping death scenes that could give the Saw movies a run for their money but also makes you want to shout at the screen, “Why the hell were you so dumb!”

Directors Beck and Woods are the writers of the critically acclaimed A Quiet Place (2018), but don’t expect the same slow-burn tension and high production values. This is a lowbudget, gritty thriller shot in a murky green pallet – a nod to the classic horror film The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) – and the masks of the killers look like school art projects. But the blood and gore look real. Haunt is a slippery slide into Harper’s nightmares while also sending a strong message against domestic violence.

If you’re looking for a fun old-school haunted-house slasher look no further than this film. It’s reminiscent of the scary ride at the fun fair. As a kid you were too nervous to go in, but there was no way you’d miss out on a good scare. This is a throwback to the kind of movie horror fans grew up with in the ’80s.