{"id":10416,"date":"2015-10-17T12:38:22","date_gmt":"2015-10-17T19:38:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/?p=10416"},"modified":"2015-10-17T12:39:01","modified_gmt":"2015-10-17T19:39:01","slug":"review-gallows-bd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/2015\/10\/review-gallows-bd\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: The Gallows BD + Screen Caps"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>The Gallows<\/em><\/strong> was easily one of the worst, not to mention inane, films I\u2019ve seen all year and it\u2019s still perplexing how it even managed a major theatrical distribution when it was destined to DTV and\/or VOD. Shame really as the technical details, though the video is hard to judge considering the found footage style, isn\u2019t half bad while the bonus material is merely so-so.<\/p>\n

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The Gallows<\/span>
\n(2015)<\/strong><\/p>\n


\nREVIEW NAVIGATION<\/strong><\/span>
\nThe Movie<\/a> | Special Features<\/a> | Video Quality<\/a> | Audio Quality<\/a> | Overall<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Genre(s): <\/strong>Horror
\nWarner Bros. | R \u2013 81 min. \u2013 $44.95 | October 13, 2015<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n <\/b>MOVIE INFO:
\n<\/u>Directed by: <\/strong>Chris Lofing, Travis Cluff
\nWriter(s): <\/strong>Chris Lofing, Travis Cluff (written by)
\nCast: <\/strong>Reese Mishler, Pfeifer Brown, Ryan Shoos, Cassidy Gifford<\/p>\n

DISC INFO:
\n<\/u>Features: <\/strong>Featurettes, Deleted Scenes, Gag Reel, DVD Copy
\nDigital Copy: <\/strong>Yes
\nNumber of Discs: <\/strong>2<\/p>\n

Audio: <\/strong>English (Dolby Atmos\/TrueHD 7.1), French (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1)
\nVideo: <\/strong>1080p\/Widescreen 1.78
\nSubtitles: <\/strong>English SDH, French, Spanish
\nDisc Size: <\/strong>NA
\nCodec: <\/strong>MPEG-4 AVC
\nRegion(s): <\/strong>A, B, C<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n


\n** Click Here to Purchase The Gallows<\/em> on Blu-ray from Amazon.com<\/a><\/strong> **<\/p>\n

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THE MOVIE<\/strong> \u2013 0.5\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Every so often a movie comes around where I have to asked God, \u201cwhy?\u201d As much as I loathe the found footage subgenre, The Gallows<\/em><\/strong> manages to break new ground in awfulness to the point, by film\u2019s end, utter stupidity. Despite the 75-minute running time (sans credits), it felt so much longer and the first 25-minutes, as oft happens with found footage, is mere set-up, introducing back story and the main characters. Those minutes, however, were utterly dull and I couldn\u2019t have cared less about any of these characters.<\/p>\n

The Gallows<\/em><\/strong> opens in Beatrice, Nebraska, 1993 with the taping of a stage play of the same name where one member, Charlie playing Author, valiantly steps up into the noose and due to a malfunction, gets hung in real life and dies. Mass panic ensues among the astonished crowd. Fast forward 20 years (yep this takes place in 2013), with the \u201cProperty of Blah Blah Police Department\u201d label since this is footage found after the fact, we are introduced to a variety of characters from nerds, jocks, cheerleaders and a few in between.<\/p>\n

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We are focused on four individuals: Ryan (RYAN SHOOS), the primary cameraman, best friend Reese (REESE MISHLER) who was roped (no pun intended, really) into performing the latest version of \u201cThe Gallows\u201d stage play, Ryan\u2019s hot cheerleader girlfriend Cassidy (CASSIDY GIFFORD) and Pfeifer (PFEIFER BROWN), the female lead\/diva of the play and Reese\u2019s uber-crush and reason for even doing the play.<\/p>\n

One problem: Reese is awful and Ryan comes up with the idea to get his bud out of the gig: break into the school via an unlocked door, wreck the set thus the play will have to be canceled. So, the two stooges and cheergirl Cassidy set out to do just that and while there, and I guess out of plot convenience or something, Pfeifer also is there and is none too pleased with Ryan. Things even become more chaotic when the previously cannot be locked door is suddenly locked as are every other avenue of escape. Electricity is also off, phone lines are down and of course their cell phones cannot receive service. All the obstacles (tropes) are in full effect.<\/p>\n

Using only the light from the camera, they guide their way through hallways trying to escape as an apparent evil force, as called out in joking fashion earlier by class clown Reese, is with them playing all sorts of tricks and pluck each of them one by one visa vi a noose.<\/p>\n

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I can\u2019t stress this enough: I hated The Gallows<\/em><\/strong>. It\u2019s not just that it\u2019s dumb but add in an all around boring film and the latest in the found footage horror film, each one really indistinguishable from the next, and one has to wonder who thought making this a wide theatrical release \u2013 as it was initially an independent flick prior to being co-financed by Bloomhouse and distributed by Warner Bros \u2013 was a good idea. It\u2019s poorly made, though doesn\u2019t look<\/em> bad and the acting bordered on obnoxious especially Reese who within the first few minutes you want to punch in the face. On the plus side, Pfeifer Brown wasn\u2019t too bad and might\u2019ve been the most likeable of the bunch (not saying much, I guess).<\/p>\n

On the downside: these characters, albeit \u201cteenagers\u201d, are dumb as bricks from the get-go filming their vandalizing the stage (that said, the adults are no better for putting on a play where a student was killed and putting up gallows with absolutely no safety precautions). I know teens do stupid things, but that takes the cake. On the other hand, it\u2019s a minor detail in a film with far larger problems. For one, the villain of Charlie isn\u2019t scary and when he does appear, in spurts, he\u2019s not that scary and the camera tricks employed by the filmmakers, such as having him creep into the dim light behind one of the characters doesn\u2019t do it. And to these horror directors, making things loud doesn\u2019t make it scary or frightening. Sometimes it works in moderation (see the original Halloween<\/em>) unfortunately it\u2019s employed liberally in so many of modern slasher\/horror. Apparently patience is no longer a virtue.<\/p>\n

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The film was co-written\/co-produced\/co-edited and co-directed by Chris Lofing and Travis Cluff and while I can appreciate the independent student film finding success like The Gallows<\/em><\/strong> did, the final product made for an all around bad movie, joining the ranks of other recent horror flicks like Unfriended<\/em> and Ouija<\/em>. Sadly it did make $38M worldwide on a paltry $100k budget so I\u2019m sure the studio will churn out a quick and cheap sequel…<\/p>\n

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SPECIAL FEATURES \u2013 2.5\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n

This release comes with a matted slip cover<\/strong>. Inside is a standard def DVD Copy<\/u><\/strong> and a redemption code for the Digital HD<\/u><\/strong> copy.<\/p>\n

The Gallows<\/u><\/em><\/strong>: The Original Version (1:20:52; HD)<\/u><\/strong> is the film (guerrilla style) that sold some producers at Blumhouse and Entertainment 360 to make this a theatrical release with some tweaks and reshoots.<\/p>\n

The Gallows<\/u><\/em><\/strong>: Surviving the Noose (17:20; HD)<\/u><\/strong> \u2013 This is an interview with Chris Lofing and Travis Cluff conducted by Producer Jason Blum.<\/p>\n

Charlie: Every School Has Its Spirit (9:44; HD)<\/u><\/strong> is a featurette to the monstrous villain.<\/p>\n

Deleted Scenes (18:17; HD)<\/u><\/strong> \u2013 There are 12 scenes, including two alternate endings, included. As you can imagine, there\u2019s nothing here of real note, more footage adding \u201ccharacter\u201d moments (i.e. Ryan acting like a jackass).<\/p>\n

Gag Reel (7:45; HD)<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Under Trailers<\/strong> we get the Concept Trailer (2:42; HD)<\/u><\/strong> that sold investors on the project, Original Version Trailer (2:48; HD)<\/u><\/strong> and the Theatrical Trailer (1:38; HD)<\/u><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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VIDEO \u2013 4.0\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The Gallows<\/em><\/strong> swings, and sways, on Blu-ray presented with a 1.78 widescreen aspect ratio and a 1080p high-definition transfer. As with most of these found footage flicks, it\u2019s a bit hard to judge considering it employs the shaky-cam style but from what I could tell, detail was pretty good, better than anything one would record on a standard video camera, and colors appear to be good while the bulk of the film takes place in the dark, we do get splashes of red to provide some supposed dread and atmosphere.
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AUDIO \u2013 4.75\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n

For whatever reason, this movie gets the new Dolby Atmos track which, for receivers unable to decode, will output TrueHD 7.1. It might be some overkill (pun intended here), but there\u2019s some nice depth with the blood-curdling screams taking up the bulk of the audio for the third act. Dialogue otherwise sounds clear enough and the generic music and score makes the most out of the rear speakers.<\/p>\n

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OVERALL \u2013 2.0\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Overall, The Gallows<\/em><\/strong> was easily one of the worst, not to mention inane, films I\u2019ve seen all year and it\u2019s still perplexing how it even managed a major theatrical distribution when it was destined to DTV and\/or VOD. Shame really as the technical details, though the video is hard to judge considering the found footage style, isn\u2019t half bad while the bonus material is merely so-so. This is one that can be skipped, it can\u2019t even muster in the so bad its good territory.<\/p>\n

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Published: <\/strong>10\/17\/2015<\/p>\n

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Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers<\/strong>.
\nThese are only here to give an idea of the movie\u2019s video quality and may not be truly representative of it.<\/p>\n