| The Dead Room | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Jason Stutter |
| Written by |
|
| Produced by | Kevin Stevens, Joseph Askew |
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | Grant Atkinson |
| Edited by | Jason Stutter |
| Music by |
|
Production company | Centron Pictures |
| Distributed by |
|
Release date |
|
Running time | 80 minutes |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Language | English |
The Dead Room is a 2015 New Zealand horror film directed by Jason Stutter, who co-wrote it with Kevin Stevens. The Dead Room was inspired by the 1970s urban legend of a haunted farmhouse in Central Otago, New Zealand. [1] It stars Jed Brophy, Jeffrey Thomas, and Laura Petersen as ghost hunters who are hired to determine if a house is haunted. It premiered at Sitges Film Festival in October 2015 and was released later that month in New Zealand.
After a ghost scares a family out of their house, an insurance company hires three ghost hunters to determine if it is haunted. They include Liam, who handles their technological tools, skeptic Scott, and psychic Holly. At first, Holly senses nothing in the house, and Scott's tools measure no electromagnetic disturbances. After Liam sets up several cameras with sensors, they go to sleep. At 3am, the cameras pick up movement, which Scott later dismisses as a draft. As Liam and Scott discuss their previous cases, Scott describes his theory that low frequency sound can disperse a ghost, and Liam shows Holly footage of a chair rocking by itself. Scott admits that he can not explain the footage and says he wants to find a scientific explanation for the paranormal.
A loud noise wakes the ghost hunters at 3am the next night, and Holly says she sees a ghostly figure, which neither of the men can see. In the morning, Scott tells them nobody will accept their evidence, as it is too subjective. Although frustrated, Liam and Holly eventually agree, and the three go through each room, trying to make contact. Before going to sleep, they set alarms to wake just before 3am. That night, Holly sees the ghostly figure again, and it reacts aggressively, threatening her. Scott calms the others by telling them that there is no evidence a ghost has ever harmed a living person; all it can do is scare them. Holly, more shaken than the others, reveals she took the job to conquer her fear of ghosts.
During the day, Holly senses a presence and strong temperature change, which the others do not feel. Scott's EMF meter reads nothing, but he soon realizes he forgot to insert a battery. When he does so, it immediately begins reading a large disturbance. The reading suddenly goes dead at the end of the main hallway, and Holly agrees that there is no presence in the kitchen. This is reinforced when the ghost later chases them, and they take refuge in the kitchen. Worried that the attacks could turn dangerous, Liam and Holly argue they should leave the house. Scott, however, insists they stay to capture evidence of the paranormal. When they subsequently film a telekinetic attack by flying furniture, Scott again insists they stay, this time to test his theory. Liam, who owns their transportation, reluctantly agrees, overriding Holly's objections.
During the ghost's next appearance, Liam restarts the house's generator while Scott sets up his equipment. After the machine reaches its lowest frequency, the attack suddenly ends, and Holly admits that the ghost is gone. As the relieved ghost hunters pack up their equipment, Liam notices a strangely-cold corner in the kitchen. Upon further investigation, a hidden passage leads to another room. There, they discover the mummified remains of a woman. Overwhelmed by a paranormal presence, Holly is forced to leave the room, and the others call the police, who, after looking, say there is no body in the room. As the ghost hunters attempt to convince the police officers of their story, Holly is suddenly possessed and reveals that the first ghost was trying to frighten them off and protect them from the second, the woman. The second ghost quickly kills the police officers, then Scott. Liam saves Holly, only to be killed himself. As Holly flees the house, the ghost kills her. In the final scene the killer ghost finally shows itself and the credits roll.
The Dead Room premiered at the Sitges Film Festival on 14 October 2015. [2] It was released in New Zealand on 29 October 2015. [1] IFC Midnight released it in the US in April 2016, and Scream Factory is releasing the film on Blu-ray and DVD 6 September 2016. [3]
 | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (May 2017) |
Matt Donato of We Got This Covered wrote, "You've visited haunted houses that are more hair-raising than The Dead Room." [4] Noel Murray at the Los Angeles Times described the lack of excitement or scary scenes and with the exception of the last 10 minutes, when "Stutter builds to a genuinely impressive sequence of spooky special effects and mayhem." [5]
A haunted house, spook house or ghost house in ghostlore is a house or other building often perceived as being inhabited by disembodied spirits of the deceased who may have been former residents or were otherwise connected with the property. Parapsychologists often attribute haunting to the spirits of the dead who have suffered from violent or tragic events in the building's past such as murder, accidental death, or suicide.
Larnach Castle is a mock castle on the ridge of the Otago Peninsula within the limits of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand, close to the small settlement of Pukehiki. It is one of a few houses of this scale in New Zealand. The house was built by the prominent entrepreneur and politician, William Larnach. Since 1967, the castle has been privately owned by the Barker family, and opened as a tourist attraction, as "New Zealand's only castle".
Ghost Hunters is an American paranormal and reality television series. The original series aired from October 6, 2004 until October 26, 2016 on Syfy. The original program spanned eleven seasons with 230 episodes, not including 10 specials. The series was revived in early 2019 and aired its twelfth and thirteenth seasons from August 21, 2019, to May 27, 2020, on A&E, after which it was cancelled and then revived for its fourteenth season only months later on Discovery+, which started airing on October 31, 2021. Season 15 began October 1, 2022 on Travel Channel. Season 16 of Ghost Hunters is set to release on Travel Channel on April 6, 2023.
Proof Positive is a reality television paranormal investigation show broadcast by the SciFi Channel beginning on October 6, 2004, through December 8, 2004. It was shown as part of the "SciFi Wednesday" evening schedule line up in the United States along with other reality television programs as Scare Tactics and Ghost Hunters. Proof Positive ran for ten episodes.
Hans Holzer was an Austrian-American author and parapsychologist. He wrote more than 120 books on supernatural and occult subjects for the popular market as well as several plays, musicals, films, and documentaries, and hosted a television show, Ghost Hunter.
Ghost hunting is the process of investigating locations that are purportedly haunted by ghosts. Typically, a ghost-hunting team will attempt to collect evidence supporting the existence of paranormal activity.
A ghosthunter is a person who engages in ghost hunting, the process of investigating locations that are allegedly haunted.
The Lost Crown: A Ghost-Hunting Adventure is a British graphic adventure video game released in 2008. The Lost Crown is the third full title to be written and developed by Jonathan Boakes, author of Dark Fall: The Journal and Dark Fall 2: Lights Out. The screenplay follows the adventure of Nigel Danvers, as he experiences the paranormal in his quest to find the fabled Lost Crown of Anglia. The game was followed by The Last Crown: Midnight Horror and The Last Crown: Blackenrock.
Ghosts are an important and integral part of the folklore of the socio-cultural fabric of the geographical and ethno-linguistic region of Bengal which presently consists of Bangladesh and the Indian states of West Bengal and Tripura. Bengali folktales and Bengali cultural identity are intertwined in such a way that ghosts depicted reflect the culture it sets in. Fairy tales, both old and new, often use the concept of ghosts. References to ghosts are often found in modern-day Bengali literature, cinema, radio and television media. There are also alleged haunted sites in the region. The common word for ghosts in Bengali is bhoot or bhut. This word has an alternative meaning: 'past' in Bengali. Also, the word Pret is used in Bengali to mean ghost. In Bengal, ghosts are believed to be the unsatisfied spirits of human beings who cannot find peace after death or the souls of people who died in unnatural or abnormal circumstances like murders, suicides or accidents. Non-human animals can also turn into ghosts after their death. But they are often associated with good luck and wealth in Bangladesh.
Ghost Adventures is an American paranormal and reality television series that premiered on October 17, 2008, on the Travel Channel before moving to Discovery+ in 2021. An independent film of the same name originally aired on the Sci-Fi Channel on July 25, 2007. The program follows ghost hunters Zak Bagans, Aaron Goodwin, Billy Tolley, and Jay Wasley as they investigate locations that are reported to be haunted.
Jason Stutter is a New Zealand-based motion picture, television and commercial director.
Beaulieu Palace House is a 13th-century house in Beaulieu, Hampshire, United Kingdom. Originally part of Beaulieu Abbey, the estate was bought in 1538 by Thomas Wriothesley, 1st Earl of Southampton, following the Dissolution of the Monasteries. It is still owned and occupied by the earl's descendants, the Barons Montagu of Beaulieu.
There are a number of reportedly haunted locations in Scotland.
Waitomo Caves Hotel is a historic hotel built in 1908 that is located in Waitomo District, King Country above Waitomo Caves in New Zealand. The hotel initially had only six bedrooms, and was later expanded in 1927–1928 with the addition of 24 more rooms, along with a new kitchen and dining room. The building is famous for its unique style of New Zealand Victorian. Some claim that the hotel is haunted.
Haunt is a 2013 American supernatural horror film directed by Mac Carter in his feature film directorial debut. The film premiered at the Film Society of Lincoln Center on November 6, 2013, and was later released on video on demand on February 7, 2014. Haunt stars Harrison Gilbertson as a teenager who moves into a new house and goes through not only a sexual awakening but also a terrifying haunting.