The film played in select theaters nationwide before its digital release on March 16, 2018. [4]
Critical response
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 54% based on 13 reviews and an average rating of 4.3/10. [5]
Steve Barton of Dread Central said the film was one of the "single most compelling documentaries on the existence of the supernatural that I've ever witnessed. Whether or not The Ammons House was haunted or is the portal to hell is still very much debatable". [6]
Noel Murray, writing for the Los Angeles Times called the film "hooey", and said "Zak Bagans' documentary Demon House is essentially an uncensored, overlong episode of his long-running Travel Channel series Ghost Adventures . And while this particular 'paranormal investigation' may terrify the more credulous among Bagans' fan base, skeptics are likely to feel bored and confused." [7]
RogerEbert.com reviewer Nick Allen criticized the film, saying Bagans had "little filmmaking tact other than trying to prove he’s right" amounting to a "hammy enterprise" that "feels more superficial than supernatural". [8]
Skeptical investigator Kenny Biddle reviewed the film, characterizing it as a pseudo-documentary, "meaning it is filmed in a documentary style but doesn't portray real events". Biddle wrote that there was "no actual investigation of paranormal claims; there was ample retelling of experiences and anecdotes, lots of speculation, misinterpretations, and shady editing, but no solid investigating." [9]
