Death House (2/5) – Netflix Movie Review

Death House is a new horror movie on Netflix. It features an almost obscene amount of the most iconic horror movie actors. This alone will make it a treat to many. Unfortunately, the movie itself isn’t very good. Read our Death House review here and watch it on Netflix now!

Death House is a new horror movie on Netflix. Usually, we wouldn’t really cover a movie that’s already a few years old and has been released on VOD, DVD and been working the film festivals for years.

However, Death House certainly does deserve to have its moment in the sun here at Heaven of Horror.

Mostly because it is chock full of iconic horror actors from some of the biggest franchises. Read more about who you can expect to see in this review or go watch the movie on Netflix now. Just be warned; It really isn’t very good.

The iconic cast of Death House

The cast of Death House does feature some of the most well-known horror names. Actors who have portrayed iconic horror characters in the past. Some of them behind masks, but others are recognized from their face as well.

We open with Tony Todd of Candyman which is an old favorite of mine. Basically, whenever Tony Todd is onboard, I’m ready to give it a shot. Especially since he was also pretty damn awesome in the Final Destination franchise.

Also, you’ll get to see Kane Hodder who was Jason Voorhees himself in the Friday the 13th franchise and Victor Crowley in The Hatchet movies.

Then there’s Sid Haig who has worked with Rob Zombie for movies like The Devil’s Rejects and House of 1000 Corpses. And the unforgettable face of Michael Berryman from The Hills Have Eyes.

As for the ladies, we have Dee Wallace from The Howling, Critters and, of course, the aforementioned The Hills Have Eyes. Also onboard are Camille Keaton from I Spit on Your Grave and Adrienne Barbeau. Adrienne Barbeau was in John Carpenter’s The Fog, George A. Romero’s Creepshow (written by Stephen King) and Wes Craven’s Swamp Thing.

Finally, we have the always competent and brilliant Barbara Crampton in a key role. You may know her from the 80s horror movies Re-Animator and From Beyond. Or the more recent movies We Are Still Here, Beyond the Gates or the final season of Channel Zero – The Dream Door.

Is Death House the horror version of The Expendables?

Yes, Death House been called the horror equivalent to The Expendables which brought together all the biggest action stars. And I certainly do understand why. Even if some of the biggest face-recognizable horror icons are not in this movie.

For me, however, the story and production quality of Death House is nowhere near the level of The Expendables. Also, that movie did actually embrace its campiness 110%. Something Death House does not.

In fact, it seems to pride itself on being pure horror. But “pure horror” is about telling a good story and that really doesn’t happen here.

Watch Death House on Netflix now!

Death House was directed by B. Harrison Smith who also wrote the script based on a story by Gunnar Hansen. Yes, the Gunnar Hansen who was the original Leatherface in the 1974 horror classic The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. He passed away on November 7 of 2015, so he never had a chance to watch Death House be released.

Originally, Death House premiered at Central Florida Film Festival in September of 2017 and was released on VOD in the US back in November of 2018 with a DVD release a month later. Now, the movie will reach a much wider audience with this Netflix release.

Honestly, I did not care for the movie itself. It’s messy and feels campy but doesn’t actually embrace its campiness. What I did enjoy, however, was the fact that every time a new actor appeared, it was yet another horror icon. And that is certainly worth something. Whether it’s enough will be very subjective. I don’t really think it is.

Death House is out on Netflix in the US, Canada, and a few other countries from May 5, 2019.

Details

Director: B. Harrison Smith
Cast: Kane Hodder | Vernon Wells | Gunnar Hansen | Michael Berryman | Adrienne Barbeau | Bill Moseley | Lloyd Kaufman | Barbara Crampton | Sid Haig | Tony Todd | Dee Wallace | Camille Keaton | Vincent Ward | Cortney Palm | Lindsay Hartley | Cody Longo |

Plot

Two federal agents battle through an army of rioting prisoners — and their sense of reality — inside a high-tech prison modeled after Dante’s Inferno.