Suburban Gothic (2014) Review
“This dead end town just got a lot deader”Synopsis: City-boy Raymond returns to his hometown and finds a vengeful ghost is terrorizing his house. Therefore, this man-child recruits Becca, a badass local bartender, to solve the mystery of the spirit threatening people’s lives. | ![]() Watch now on Amazon |
Calamity Brains:
Suburban Gothic feels a lot more like the horror genre’s answer to Garden State rather than a decent horror movie in its own right. The setup and tone are full of existential ennui, not terror; the ambiance is angsty rather than creepy. It’s mildly interesting, but a mostly forgettable watch. The ghost story, such as it is, feels entirely secondary to the feckless 20-something focus of the movie.
Raymond (Matthew Gray Gubler) has come to stay with his parents. As he drifts through life, he finds some meaning in reconnecting with old schoolmate Becca (Kat Dennings) and a mystery surrounding his parents’ property. His relationships are all fairly predictable, and Kat Dennings just barely misses the manic pixie girl stereotype (but not by enough). The main appeal of this movie comes from the cast – you’ll recognize Ray Wise, Jeffrey Combs, and Ray Santiago, among others.
In the end, Raymond sort of overcomes his obstacles – and let’s be honest here, his real obstacle is himself – to save the day and restore peace to the spirits haunting his parents’ home. It’s an underwhelming ending to an underwhelming movie, but a relatively neat conclusion (though the shaky CGI does nothing to help the flick rise above its mediocrity). You might get a chuckle or two out of this if you catch it on TV, but you probably don’t want to pay for it.
Calamity Brains’ Rating: C+
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