The Gallows

(2015) **

In 1993 a freak accident led to the death of a young actor during a high school production of a play called “The Gallows”. Twenty years later the school inexplicably decides to produce a new version of the drama however someone or something from the past is seeking revenge for the 1993 incident. The scares kick in when three jerk-high school students decide to break into the school to destroy the set of the troubled production. Their malicious intentions are cut short when they find themselves trapped in the auditorium with cell phones that (of course) do not work. Soon they are joined by a 4th student, the lead actress of the play, and together the quartet fight for their lives to escape the school while being hounded by a malevolent force.

This tired found footage story is replete with problems starting with the main characters. At least two of the 4 students stuck in the school are unlikable assholes and their inevitable deaths are welcome.  I was indifferent about the other two bland stereotypes and when they met their fates I didn't blink. The weak plot asks you to believe that students could be trapped in a school without anyone noticing. There are no alarms? Cameras? Janitors? Also, how could you be trapped in a school? Break a window, pull a fire alarm, smash a door open, etc. The ridiculous nature of their ‘predicament’ saps the story of any real fear. There are arguably one or two good scares but it’s not enough to make this cheapie worth your time.