House of Voices DVD Review:

The ghost story films have been done so many times lately that the idea of another one was a weary thought. As I began House of Voices, I expected all of the usual stops as far as ghost stories go, and although many of them were there, they were presented with more thought than most. House of Voices takes the time to set things up in a way that allows the film to have suspense, while most ghost films skip straight to the scares. Suspense in films has been taken out and replaced with quick scares and gore, so it is a relief to watch a film that understands this, even if it isn’t a great film.

When a young woman is impregnated she takes a job in an abandoned orphanage as a way to escape. As the children are leaving, one of them approaches her and whispers a warning about the bad kids still in the orphanage. Others also make comments to her, and soon she is determined to find out what the mystery of the ancient building is. There is a presence within the bathroom that may be the result of a group of dead children. There are only a few other women working with her, and some of them may be involved with the tragedy of the past.

While House of Voices knows a great deal about the execution of suspense, there is no real consequence to this knowledge because the script is rather dull. There is hardly an unexpected moment within the script, and the ending may be somewhat shocking, but at the same time it is oddly expected. It is a real shame to see such an effort go wasted, but at the same time I would not expect any better from another ghost story. If anything this still does a better job than most.

The DVD has a few special features, if you have a curious nature, or liked the movie enough to watch them. There are deleted scenes, but they are predictably boring. There is also a short featurette, The Making of House of Voices, which has interesting moments and interviews. These few special features aren’t anything to get too excited about, but I suppose it makes the DVD slightly more interesting.



Ryan Izay