Decent short found footage with a very similar concept to Bad Ben, but with someone with at least some acting ability. There's nothing new to see here, but there are couple of well timed jolts. Not the worst way to kill 45 minutes.
9 Reviews
Not the Worst...
tmccull5217 July 2021
Warning: Spoilers
This isn't the worst little horror movie that I've ever seen. That honor would go to either "Midnight Macabre", or "Dark Attachment". The basic premise parallels that of Nigel Bach's "Bad Ben"; a man buys a property sight unseen at a police auction. The buyer subsequently discovers that the property is haunted.
"Bad Ben" was made as something of a lark, and it was meant to be a bit tongue-in-cheek. Bach shot "Bad Ben" in less than two weeks, and almost entirely with his smart phone. "The House and the White String" is a much more professionally made, more serious effort. The movie is more creepy than actually scary. It starts at the end, and circles back through the events that lead to the end. You spend much more time waiting for things to happen than actually happens.
Like "Bad Ben", this is basically a one-man show. The only characters are the home buyer, and the ghost. The ghost is that of a woman that was murdered in her house by squatters. Researching the history of the house after he moves in, the buyer finds an article about the murder. The victim was an elderly woman named Emilia Yost. She was bound and left in the back bedroom to essentially starve to death while the squatters took over use of the house. Particular but unspecific mention is referenced as to how the squatters silenced the woman. This particular method is revealed near the end of the movie, by the home buyer, himself.
It's not a great movie, but it isn't an outright stinker like so many zero-budget indie horror flicks are.
"Bad Ben" was made as something of a lark, and it was meant to be a bit tongue-in-cheek. Bach shot "Bad Ben" in less than two weeks, and almost entirely with his smart phone. "The House and the White String" is a much more professionally made, more serious effort. The movie is more creepy than actually scary. It starts at the end, and circles back through the events that lead to the end. You spend much more time waiting for things to happen than actually happens.
Like "Bad Ben", this is basically a one-man show. The only characters are the home buyer, and the ghost. The ghost is that of a woman that was murdered in her house by squatters. Researching the history of the house after he moves in, the buyer finds an article about the murder. The victim was an elderly woman named Emilia Yost. She was bound and left in the back bedroom to essentially starve to death while the squatters took over use of the house. Particular but unspecific mention is referenced as to how the squatters silenced the woman. This particular method is revealed near the end of the movie, by the home buyer, himself.
It's not a great movie, but it isn't an outright stinker like so many zero-budget indie horror flicks are.
Not the worst, but still pretty bad overall.
icocleric11 February 2022
It's not the worst found footage film I have ever seen, but overall I didn't like it. It has some nice creepy touches, but I think it wastes a lot of time on nothing when that could have been used to get more of a creepy vibe, have some other small weird things going on.
Especially at the beginning of the film when it showing a whole bunch of the properties, and some green field. It has a lot of found footage shaky camera happening too. Even on the none scary moments.
I did like how the guy did speak and explained a lot, because that did make it a little bit more engaging. I also liked that it had a couple of rewind moments to here's some creepy things that I missed before. But so much shaky cam!!
The background story was intriguing, but I did think they juster wasted too much time to enjoy it. Also it just kind of ends. Which was disappointing.
Especially at the beginning of the film when it showing a whole bunch of the properties, and some green field. It has a lot of found footage shaky camera happening too. Even on the none scary moments.
I did like how the guy did speak and explained a lot, because that did make it a little bit more engaging. I also liked that it had a couple of rewind moments to here's some creepy things that I missed before. But so much shaky cam!!
The background story was intriguing, but I did think they juster wasted too much time to enjoy it. Also it just kind of ends. Which was disappointing.
Horrible lol
nerona1328 July 2022
I was hoping for something scary
aucottjohn13 August 2021
Good Ben?
GiraffeDoor6 August 2021
This middle length film opens horribly. It's just so dumb from the In Medias Res to the awful newspaper cuttings complete with jump cuts to the same newspaper but closer.
But after the first 2 minutes, we actually find a reasonable enough movie is beginning. I think that those who made this watched a lot of online videos, not just the ones that are supposed to be scary/paranormal but the just studied semi-amateur footage that people make of themselves.
I actually found the opening scene when he's walking around the property very soothing and relaxing, which is often how I want my horror. This may not be a long movie but at points it does take its sweet time which admirable in these kinds of movies.
The main character doesn't have much personality and the little he shows is not terribly sympathetic but it's not really about him, just what's happening to him anyway, I guess.
There are tons of wrong notes such as a character saying "creepy" out loud and at another point...well, they try a bit too hard to resemble real life paranormal documentaries.
The story doesn't really go anywhere but I must give credit where credit is due and say that this movie got me on edge. It captured a feeling of credibility (in fits and starts and at times I was feeling anxious like I usually only do watching horror game trailers.
There isn't much to work with in terms of pasting together a lore and in many ways that is admirable. The lack of hard information and the long drawn out pacing is something that when done well, is fabulous.
On the other hand though, I think the ending would have had more impact if there had been some more investment in the symbolism and the back story. Just a touch.
But after the first 2 minutes, we actually find a reasonable enough movie is beginning. I think that those who made this watched a lot of online videos, not just the ones that are supposed to be scary/paranormal but the just studied semi-amateur footage that people make of themselves.
I actually found the opening scene when he's walking around the property very soothing and relaxing, which is often how I want my horror. This may not be a long movie but at points it does take its sweet time which admirable in these kinds of movies.
The main character doesn't have much personality and the little he shows is not terribly sympathetic but it's not really about him, just what's happening to him anyway, I guess.
There are tons of wrong notes such as a character saying "creepy" out loud and at another point...well, they try a bit too hard to resemble real life paranormal documentaries.
The story doesn't really go anywhere but I must give credit where credit is due and say that this movie got me on edge. It captured a feeling of credibility (in fits and starts and at times I was feeling anxious like I usually only do watching horror game trailers.
There isn't much to work with in terms of pasting together a lore and in many ways that is admirable. The lack of hard information and the long drawn out pacing is something that when done well, is fabulous.
On the other hand though, I think the ending would have had more impact if there had been some more investment in the symbolism and the back story. Just a touch.
Um..what can I say about this movie?
poegrrl20 August 2022
It's cheesy it's not scary it's just one guy running around a house that looks like a hoarder's house and the actor is just meh! It just seems like someone made it one day. Yes there is a house and a white string. It is a good time waster there was a few good scares but not many. Just my two cents.
Finally, a film that actually scared me.
gemsing18 September 2021
I watch a lot of horrors and feel disappointed most of the time. However, this film put me on edge from the start. I believed I was in the house, alone and terrified. The only issue I had was that it wasn't a full feature film as I didn't want it to end.
Aren't Movies Meant to Run Over an Hour?
bretthernan-0273329 February 2024
Offered on Amazon Prime as a feature length film this shonk job of 'movie' had plenty of potential to be an unusually quirky and really frightening film, but instead it petered out after 30 minutes of repetitive and unimaginative monologue, unbelievable 'scared breathing' and even less frightening manifestations of a ghost you were pretty much expecting from minute one.
There was a lot of potential in this non movie/short film which the film maker either didn't notice or chose to ignore. Understandably, (but in no way justfiably), it looks like it was made during the initial full blown lockdown period of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic and as such there was a severe limitation on any production, but there could have been so much more, should the film maker have paced it and simply employed a few more creative elements to build the initially successfully induced tension before prematurely revealing the 'ghost' and silly ending.
It almost had as much potential as was achieved by The Blair Witch Project which relied upon long scenes of nothing but darkness to build its tension, and that was the highest grossing film in history for its comparitive initial outlay to return ratio(!), so that's an indication of how much the makers of this film really missed the boat with what this could have been.
Despite it being picked up by streaming service like the one earlier mentioned and thus aapparently made a ldegitmate 'movie' through their dubious classification regime, of which this wasn't the only deceptively scant, offending offering, instead of the film creating goodwill with its original quirkiness and clever economy of cast and setting, it caused me to feel like I'd been ripped off becase I was expecting a full length feature and not merely a 40 odd minute rush job which the poorly orchestrated travesty of amateur make up artistry saw this thing quickly become when it was brought to its sudden and utterly illogical end, much like a cheap, pulp horror comic storyline where the production team were clearly far more intereted in receiving their day's end paycheue than in any way providing the public with a satisfying story, I regret to say there's not much more to this film than a house supposedly abandoned (and yet the lawns were illogically meticulously maintained and the tinterior clean and tidy after apparently a rotting corpse was left to fester in the bedroom whilst murderous squatters, not noted for their conscientious adherence to exquisite home care regimes abused the space for 12 solid weeks yet left it looking like home help just dusted it) so, between that unbelievable number of elemental failures to convey truth and numerous pieces of clean white string that looked like they had just been cut from a ball of newly purchased twine and inexplicably stuck onto a mirror with a chunk of whatever bodily fluid was most immeditely accessible, just like the short and intriguing title, with this disappointment that's about all you're going to see.
I'm cancelling Amazon Prime in protest at their scurrilous practice of flogging 40 minute bombs as feature films, mainly because I don't believe anyone who elevates themselves on blocks of cash really is above the rest of society's expectations of what they ought to receive when watching a movie nor does this automatically see them inherit the right of arbiter of popular culture with the soverign right to reclassify short films as movies and thereby to ripoff those paying their actual hard earned money for what they don't receive.
There was a lot of potential in this non movie/short film which the film maker either didn't notice or chose to ignore. Understandably, (but in no way justfiably), it looks like it was made during the initial full blown lockdown period of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic and as such there was a severe limitation on any production, but there could have been so much more, should the film maker have paced it and simply employed a few more creative elements to build the initially successfully induced tension before prematurely revealing the 'ghost' and silly ending.
It almost had as much potential as was achieved by The Blair Witch Project which relied upon long scenes of nothing but darkness to build its tension, and that was the highest grossing film in history for its comparitive initial outlay to return ratio(!), so that's an indication of how much the makers of this film really missed the boat with what this could have been.
Despite it being picked up by streaming service like the one earlier mentioned and thus aapparently made a ldegitmate 'movie' through their dubious classification regime, of which this wasn't the only deceptively scant, offending offering, instead of the film creating goodwill with its original quirkiness and clever economy of cast and setting, it caused me to feel like I'd been ripped off becase I was expecting a full length feature and not merely a 40 odd minute rush job which the poorly orchestrated travesty of amateur make up artistry saw this thing quickly become when it was brought to its sudden and utterly illogical end, much like a cheap, pulp horror comic storyline where the production team were clearly far more intereted in receiving their day's end paycheue than in any way providing the public with a satisfying story, I regret to say there's not much more to this film than a house supposedly abandoned (and yet the lawns were illogically meticulously maintained and the tinterior clean and tidy after apparently a rotting corpse was left to fester in the bedroom whilst murderous squatters, not noted for their conscientious adherence to exquisite home care regimes abused the space for 12 solid weeks yet left it looking like home help just dusted it) so, between that unbelievable number of elemental failures to convey truth and numerous pieces of clean white string that looked like they had just been cut from a ball of newly purchased twine and inexplicably stuck onto a mirror with a chunk of whatever bodily fluid was most immeditely accessible, just like the short and intriguing title, with this disappointment that's about all you're going to see.
I'm cancelling Amazon Prime in protest at their scurrilous practice of flogging 40 minute bombs as feature films, mainly because I don't believe anyone who elevates themselves on blocks of cash really is above the rest of society's expectations of what they ought to receive when watching a movie nor does this automatically see them inherit the right of arbiter of popular culture with the soverign right to reclassify short films as movies and thereby to ripoff those paying their actual hard earned money for what they don't receive.
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