Room 205

By Cyril Pearl -- Video Business, 10/13/2008

GHOST HOUSE UNDERGROUND/LIONSGATE
Street: Oct. 14
Prebook: now
> Danish fright flick about a haunted dorm has atmosphere but lacks originality.

This 2007 Danish shocker concerns a sweet co-ed (Neel Rønholt) in a Copenhagen dormitory who comes up against a murderous ghost knocking off fellow students. Filled with all the requisites for a university fright—alienated and/or bitchy students, gruesome comeuppances, cramped dorms (except for long, eerie hallways)—there’s nothing very original to be found here. But director Martin Barnewitz serves up some striking images and a distinctive blown-out lighting scheme that keeps the mood atmospheric and disorienting. Though the murders are nasty, the gore is kept to a minimum and is more shocking in its suddenness than its graphic nature. If only the script had a little more punch to equal visual tone…

Shelf Talk: This imported entry in the Ghost House Underground line (the first wave of which streets this week) could work for horror fans who favor supernatural entries over slasher flicks. The Ghost House line of eight titles has been generating substantial buzz on online horror sites, and purveyors of fright flicks are well aware that these titles are about to hit, so be prepared.

Horror, color, NR (mature themes, sexual situations, language, drug use), 90 min., DVD $19.98, Danish dubbed in English
Extras: commentary, featurette
Director: Martin Barnewitz
First Run: DVD premiere