October Horror Challenge 2017 #4: "American Poltergeist"

I was browsing movies on Netflix and I accidentally hit "play," so I decided to watch the movie that started. Of course when I go with my gut like that I wind up watching the first bad movie of the challenge. I should have quit while I was ahead.

This is the kind of movie that really irritates me, because I'm not that hard to please. Halfway decent acting, some characters likeable enough that I actually care what happens to them, and a plot that at least TRIES to hold together. Is that too much to ask? I can even deal with SOME bad acting, but here it really grates on my nerves. And the plot is just asinine. Five college students decide to save money during their senior year by living off campus in a huge creepy house who's owner is a creepy middle aged woman who will live in the house WITH them? Have these idiots never seen the movie "Burnt Offerings"?

To further add to my annoyance, one of the worst actors in the movie plays the middle aged woman who lives in this haunted house, and she delivers every line like she's bored and only half paying attention (and don't get me started on the annoying neighborhood cop who seems to be competing with her for the title of worst actor in the movie). And while the movie does seem to have a plot in mind, with hi ts of a horrible tragedy occuring in the house years ago, that doesn't help us viewers when we have to spend most of our time watching the dildobrains who live in the house now.

The characters are hard to like when they insist on doing stupid things, like moving into this house in the first place, especially when two of the characters are a brother and sister who don't agree on anything, and another character is the brother's girlfriend, who the sister hates. Sounds like a fun living situation! I understand how sometimes it's hard to just pack up and move when your house might be haunted, but these kids have enough cash and other options for living, and the creepy stuff starts happening right away when they're first viewing the house and they haven't even signed a lease yet! Come ON, filmmakers, give me something to work with here. Instead, I spent an hour and a half being bored and annoyed. Fuck you too.