(2009) ***
Last year I vowed to avoid the Afterdark Horrorfest 8 Films to Die For series, I fully intend to stick to my guns. In my disappointment with them, I made a pleasant discovery, Fangoria Frightfest films are pretty damn good. The Haunting, also known as No-Do, is a Spanish film, The story follows Francesca and Pedro, who move in to an old house, a former orphanage with a notorious past. No sooner do they get settled in, than strange things begin happening. Francesca’s daughter confides to her, that 3 “dirty girls” are in the house. The “dirty girls” are little pranksters, running about the house, writing on the walls in blood and causing mayhem. Francesca discovers a room up in the attic filled with all sorts of creepy shit and a weird old woman who keeps lurking around outside the house. The old lady tells her to contact a priest to come and bless the house. Upon investigating, Francesca & the priest discover some old films, news reels regarding 3 girls who once lived in the orphanage and claimed to have contact with the Virgin Mary. The situation becomes dangerous as the mystery begins to unravel.
This film is a good old fashioned haunted house tale, with a nice plot twist. The old films are played throughout, they add to the dark overall feeling. The story is interesting, it kept me intrigued, I really wanted to piece together all those creepy news reels. If I have a complaint, it’s that the ghost girls flashed and sparked every time they appeared. The effect just looked cheap. As with all haunted house flicks, this is best watched with the lights out.
