W2TCH

The Gallows (2015)

2015 • 1h 21m • Horror, Thriller • R
On September 24, 2026
#12386▼ 5
12386th by Pulse movie online
33.4PULSEPulse MeterOur daily Pulse Meter measures public activity and popularity signals across the web.How it works →

All reviews

Filipe Manuel Neto on The Gallows

3/10 · Apr 8, 2024

I generally don't expect much from horror movies; you have to wade through a lot of bad ones to occasionally find something worthwhile. This one, though, wasn’t as awful as I anticipated—it isn't original (the "Stage Fright" films are good examples of comparable material), it won’t stick with me for long, and it has flaws, but it does manage to be entertaining and build some suspense. The plot is nothing new: a high school theater group wants to put on a play connected to a tragedy that occurred twenty years earlier when a student died due to a prop malfunction onstage. Over those two decades, the production has gained a reputation as being cursed; mentioning the name of the deceased actor is considered bad luck and the theater itself seems haunted. Adding to the complications, some members of the cast are unhappy about the play happening at all, which leads three of them to vandalize the theater one night. From that point on, everything is set up for the scares the ghost has in store. The filmmakers smartly use a “found footage” style, although it would have been better and more believable with fewer cuts, jarring edits, and sudden shifts to nighttime scenes. I’ve watched many films using this technique, and this one felt particularly flawed and poorly done. It seems like Travis Cluff and Chris Lofing enjoyed the filming process more than the editing, which explains some of the problems, including difficulties in securing a less restrictive age rating. The film's low budget is obvious, and they try to make the most of it, but overall the movie is surprisingly effective, relying on tension rather than elaborate effects. The cast isn’t full of well-known actors, just young performers trying to break into show business. I didn’t think any of them were particularly impressive, though Reese Mishler and Pfeifer Brown at least seemed to be putting in effort. Ryan Shoos felt like he was phoning it in, and Cassidy Gifford appeared to be included simply because the directors wanted a female cast member with a noticeable figure to appeal to teenage viewers.

Source on TMDB