A little over a month ago, I reviewed the anniversary release of a documentary about the legend of snuff films entitled Snuff: A Documentary About Killing on Camera. It is only fitting that I chose this next film for review as it fits perfectly into the snuff mix. Artsploitation’s release of The House with 100 Eyes, directed by Jay Lee and Jim Roof, is a decent entry in the found footage sub-genre that brings plenty of blood and gore to all of you horror nuts out there.
Ed and Susan are filmmakers and owners of Studio Red, a production company and website that brings fans authentic and genuine snuff films. Ed is on the verge of creating his greatest film yet, a feature which includes three victims, plus all of the good snuff trimmings, of course – drugs, sex, and his good old money shot. When things start to fall apart, it causes a little rift between the married couple, consequently ruining any chance Ed had of making his masterpiece.
The House with 100 Eyes is your typical found footage film on the surface, but it has a lot of things going for it that help increase its value quite a bit. It is rather short, but it will keep you engaged the entire time with good storytelling and progression, crazy but captivating characters in Ed and Susan, and the promise of at least three victims of carnage.
Writer and co-director Jim Roof also stars in the film as main character Ed. Roof is a gifted actor who plays the role of the psychotic filmmaker rather naturally. Ed can speak of things like torture and death without batting an eye, allowing the audience to fully grasp just how screwed up this guy really is. Shannon Malone’s performance as Susan is a little different; she still does a great job portraying the character, but it is much more clear that Susan is more than just a little unhinged. This is made more evident as we learn more about the couple, like the minor detail of how Susan has gone through multiple husbands, all meeting the same fate of death-by-poison.
The fun stuff doesn’t really happen until the final act of The House with 100 Eyes. When we finally see what Ed has in store for victim number one, Crystal, I believe it is well worth the wait. The practical effects are a nice touch on an already raw and gritty flick like this one and everything looks so damn realistic. We’ve all seen films like Hostel or Saw where the brutality is always kicked into high gear, but there is something about the found footage techniques that make the events of these films seem so much more realistic and relatable, thus making them more frightening, as well.
If you’re a fan of found footage films, you should definitely give this one a shot. The House with 100 Eyes is available now on DVD from Artsploitation Films.
I give this one 3.5 giant syringes out of 5.
