Tuesday, October 1 at 7:00 p.m.: Q&A with directors Nick Toti and Rachel Kempf moderated by Shudder VP of Programming Sam Zimmerman
"Nick Toti and Rachel Kempf live and breathe horror movies. So when the couple begin to observe that the dilapidated duplex they just bought exhibits all the telltale signs of having a haunted history, they can barely believe their luck.
While most new homeowners would blanch at the sight of walls strewn with satanic graffiti, a basement littered with seemingly cursed objects, and more doors torn from their hinges than there are door frames, Nick and Rachel are gleefully inspired to conduct and document a seance within their abnormal abode. Even eerier, their Missouri manor begins to attract enigmatic, entranced strangers who creepily convene on the front lawn in increasing numbers with every passing day. Things only get weirder and scarier from there.
What sets this found-footage horror apart from other indies of its ilk is its remarkable verisimilitude. Utilizing two decades of archival footage that detail Nick and Rachel’s real-life relationship, the divide between documentary and nightmare blurs throughout as the encroaching supernatural phenomena is contrasted with the genuine vulnerability of its subjects.
The infectious camaraderie among these ghost hunters, who include Christian, Rachel’s true-life bestie, rings as authentic as the fear that Nick captures with his obsessive, voyeuristic camerawork. Already amassing acclaim on the festival circuit as one of the scariest films of its sub-genre since The Blair Witch Project, this doom-laden diary, which the filmmakers claim will never be exhibited outside a movie theatre, lives up to its deeply sardonic title." -- Peter Kuplowsky, TIFF
"Follows its central trio on a nightmarish descent into hell, rendered with scant but effective practical effects and incredibly unnerving editing." -- Rue Morgue