Review:

I'm surprised to see such terrible scores for The Gallows. It's the first horror movie in quite a while that I actually enjoyed and didn't spend its duration complaining about the terrible acting, effects, and plot. The acting was surprisingly good and I believed all of the characters, even if they look a bit old to be in High School. The story isn't really new or unique, but in a movie like this, the setting is what really matters and the empty school in the middle of the night was sufficiently creepy. I really wish they had spent more time moving throughout the school, but the rooms we do get to see felt real. I'm not a fan of the "Found Footage" trend, but The Gallows provides a good reason for the characters to be totting around a camera and all the shots felt like they were just from a hand held camera or a cell phone. There aren't a bunch or inconsistencies or plot holes like I've grown used to in these Blumhouse movies and the pacing was pretty solid. I wish we had spent more time in the "Horror" part of the movie (either through a longer run time or shortening the set-up section) and the ending was pretty bad and has an awful CGI moment and just generally disappoints. I don't even think I'm being easy on this film or that I've lowered my bar for horror movies. I didn't care about any of the characters, but I believed them and I liked the story. If this wasn't subjected to the "Blumhouse Treatment" and had a few script adjustments, The Gallows could be a classic. As it is, I found it to be an enjoyable horror movie that wasn't particularly scary, but was believably acted and has an interesting story.