House Of Forbidden Secrets: Written Review

December 18, 2018

House Of Forbidden Secrets

Written Review

Get Film On Unearthed Films'Official Website!

Hi everyone and welcome to MyIndie Review Vlog, the show that gives you spoiler-free reviews of indie films. My name is Asaf Angel from MyIndie Productions.

Today’s review is of 2013’s horror feature, House Of Forbidden Secrets, written and directed by US indie filmmaker Todd Sheets. Thank you, Todd for sharing your film with us.

Jacob, portrayed by Antwoine Steele arrives at his new job as a night shift security supervisor at the old Shadow View Manor, which nowadays serves as a central hub for many retail businesses. The facility is a fairly large, multi-story building with a hollow central area that rises all the way to the roof. Jacob gets to meet all the nice people, some of whom plan to stick around at night and keep him company.

Among the people he meets is Jackson, the maintenance guy, played by Bryan David. Jackson takes Jacob through the different floors, until they come across Cassie, Nicole Santorella, a medium and supernatural expert, her assistant Hanna, Michaela Paxton Tarbell, and an interviewer and camera person, who are there to do a story on Cassie.

Cassie makes her living as a psychic and was about to commence in a seance as Jackson and Jacob visited her in her place of business within the Manor. Cassie aims to assist a client who wishes to communicate with her deceased husband.

Things take a turn for the worse, as the seance goes horribly wrong, while Cassie realizes that her actions may have allowed something sinister from the world of the dead to enter the world of the living.

Now the group must stick together and find a way to get out of the Manor as they all fear for their lives

Right from the beginning it feels the film relishes its low-budget vibe and deliberately leads its audience to not take it too seriously. This is noticeable via the tongue-in-cheek dialogue, the level of acting as well as makeup and some practical effects.

A slightly closer observation, especially from those who are aware of the hardships in making a film, reveals the marvelous and intricate world Todd built for this project. Combining elements from iconic horror films the likes of Nightmare On Elm Street and Hellraiser, to name just a couple.

It is apparent that a tremendous amount of work went into Set and Lighting Design and some effects to offset the lack of budget. The wardrobe department must have worked with a full plate on this one as there are time-period sequences involving multiple participants. There is a large number of characters and many complicated sequences in a variety of constructed locations within the manor.

The film also gives an intriguing sense of adventure, as the premise itself is very interesting. A group of people trapped in a massive building are forced to deal with, for a lack of a better phrase, “all Hell breaking loose”.

Todd also made a film rich with cameos, some of which will likely make all diehard indie cult film fans jump up and down in their seats. Lew Temple, best known as Axel from The walking Dead, Ari Lehman, The very first Jason Voorhees, George Hardy from 1990’s Troll 2 and 2018’s Goblin 2, Dyanne Thorne from the Ilsa cult film series and indie film legend and Troma Studios founder and president Lloyd Kaufman!

There were, of course, structural elements I felt should have been executed differently, but criticism on any level needs to be proportionate to the director’s initial intent, because I trust any person who’s ever carried out an indie production will clearly be able to see the production capabilities of Todd and his team.

House Of Forbidden Secrets gets a 7/10 on the Look At Me, I’m A Film Critic scale!
The film is available for viewing in various mediums. Unearthed Films official website and Amazon among others. See links at top of page.