Haunter (2013) – Movie Review

Director: Vincenzo Natali
Writer: Matthew Brian King
Starring: Abigail Breslin, David Hewlett, Sarah Manninen
Runtime: 97 min
Rating: Unrated

In the midst of family-friendly animated movies and action-packed blockbusters, Haunter could have been a shining light for horror lovers looking for a little indulgence as Christmastime creeps up on them. With a puzzling premise that could easily garner spectators, Haunter might just be what they are looking for… or it might not be.

Haunter tells the story of Lisa (Abigail Breslin), a “troubled” 80’s teenager, complete with eyeliner and black clothing, who has noticed that her family has fallen into a strange routine. Not your typical victim-of-the-system, white middle-class family routine; a literal routine. Lisa finds herself eating the same pancakes prepared by her mom (Sarah Manninen), watching her brother  (Peter DaCunha) and his imaginary friend Edgar (David Knoll) play the same video game, and watching her father (David Hewlett) fix the same car for days on end. When she finally realizes that something is not right, strange occurrences start happening to her and her house. Lisa soon finds that she and her family are in grave danger, and they can only depend on her to free them from the cruel game of which they have become a part.

The story of Haunter had all the potential of being an interesting labyrinth, if it had boasted a well crafted script that sought to close every door it opens. In a time when horror is sadly more associated with flops, Haunter falls short of achieving what could have been an innovative story in a world of film that is full of conventions. Its pacing, characters, and “motive” are quite typical of most horror films. The film takes a long time to actually provide the spectator with any real horror (too many jump-scares for my taste), and it’s even difficult to care about what the characters are going through, making the revelation of their reality dull and unimportant. The villain and his story are mildly alluring, but again, fall short of being anything not experienced before in the realm of serial killer horror.

Abigail Breslin is, sadly, subpar. Having followed all of Breslin’s films since Little Miss Sunshine, I have to admit that my expectations were high after being witness to her talent in said cult classic. Although she hasn’t particularly shone in any role since, she does not even entertain in this film. Lisa is about as interesting as the rest of her family, and as one will find out after watching the film, that isn’t saying a lot. Instead, she is a mere plot device that lasts 97 minutes. Then again, she can’t entirely be blamed, as an actress can only do so much with what must have been a fragmented and puzzling script. As for the rest of the cast, none of them are worth mention except for Stephen McHattie, whose character gives the film a small fragment of not horror, but something that had the potential of being an interesting and easily recognizable horror villain. Sadly, the character withers into the plot, which in turn swallows any shard of interesting personality in any of the rest of the cast.

With a title sequence that seems to belong more in the fantasy realm than in a horror movie, Haunter is a film with an interesting and promising premise, but ends up being a mere mish mash of inexplicable events and completely insignificant characters. It seems like the answer for Lisa’s poor eyeliner choices was a nonsensical trip through space and time, accompanied by a little breaking and entering.

Haunter opens in Toronto (Carlton Theatre), Calgary (Country Hills) and Vancouver (Towne Abbotsford) on Friday, December 20th, and will also be available on Ultra VOD on the same date.