Muirhouse (2012) User Reviews

Slamming doors & bumps are scary but you need a plot, too

[derekjager · 5/10 · 28 March 2017]

I've watched Muirhouse twice and both times I really enjoy the set-up and the house is great. Then you hear some bumps and doors opening by themselves, furniture moving...it's all VERY creepy.

But that's ALL that happens. He's downstairs and here's a thud upstairs. "Who's there?" he yells as he runs upstairs. Then a door slams downstairs. Then a piano pings. Then there's another thud.

And so on and on and on. It's like a pinball, bouncing off each room and noise, all the while panting and gasping for air. And that's it. Then it ends.

Not sure what they were thinking since it clearly has some scares....just no plot.

Tries to make it seem real at the expense of making it entertaining.

[WisdomsHammer · 3/10 · 2 December 2017]

Needs a TON of editing to get rid of long, boring stretches of "Hey, look at all this stuff we did to make this seem like it really happened!" Things like driving, complete interviews, multiple intro recordings, equipment setup - we don't need to see ALL of it. We don't WANT to see all of it. I kept feeling as he was setting up equipment that maybe I was missing something, but nope, it was just overlong footage of him setting up equipment. If I'm wrong, let me know, because that would make this thing much more entertaining.

I'm not sure sitting through this whole thing is worth the payoff, although I did find the "good" parts good.

too much of a tease

[phenomynouss · 5/10 · 18 March 2018]

This one completely slipped my notice multiple times, and I had no interest but boredom when I put it on. It proceeded to take an ungodly amount of time to get to the actual story, but somehow managed to keep me intrigued with a litany of seemingly loosely related snippets involving Muirhouse talking about ghost hunting and what he does, discussing it on a radio show or via interviews.

Then we begin with him going into a haunted house with his setup of cameras, and he almost immediately starts getting the spooky ghosty encounters.

The way they were executed and filmed was sublime in its subtlety, and at most points is ambivalent enough to be unclear if it actually is a spooky ghost or a home invader seeking solely to scare and harass him as he ghost hunts.

The "jump scare" moments are fairly typical but also incredibly creepy given the "found footage" realism-style it was going for.

But once it reaches a long, extended sequence of quiet dread, in which you're left looking over every inch of the screen for any sign of something anomalous while Muirhouse is just staring around, waiting to hear something pounding upstairs or a door slamming again, it abruptly goes all-in with its ghostly climax...

And then it just suddenly ends.

I'm someone who absolutely loves certain things, and in particular found footage horror/sci fi movies, even if they're terrible. If they manage to become genuinely exciting or compelling, I often prefer them to not be overly long or indulgent for fear of spoiling the experience.

This film went the complete other way, ending too soon after having done too little.

Not scary, no story, not worth it at all

[looneychrisjess · 1/10 · 27 January 2014]

After reading the review that said this was a scary awesome story, I decided I had to see it. MAN was that review misleading! I felt like we must have been watching two different movies!

In the beginning of the story, where found footage movies usually give you some background on the ghost's story and the methods of the investigators was normally present here. But after having the various tools that paranormal investigators use described to us and how important they are, the main character uses nothing but a camcorder and a flashlight! What the hell?! What did he expect to find out that way?! Not only did he use none of the tools needed to carry out an investigation (and he was suppose to be a writer of haunting's, ha!) he didn't even try to communicate with the entities beyond screaming "who's there!". And to add a complaint about the ghosts, all the ghosts did throughout the entire movie was slam a couple doors and make the lights go out. Come on!

The movie opens with the police looking for a crazed man on the highway with no shirt and a hammer in his hand. Sounds super promising right? They find him and the guy is totally out of it and swinging the hammer at the cops. But in the movie the last thing the ghosts do to him is throw him into a wardrobe and close the door. So you have no idea what it was that made him so crazy or why he was carrying the hammer or wandering around along the highway! What the hell?!

This movie lacked any scares, lacked any explanations, lacked any reason to care what happened to the main character, and just lacked everything that makes most found footage movies a thrill to watch. And hey, I LIKE Australian movies! But WOW was this a let down. I would not recommend this to um....any audience.

A pointless waste of time

[andrewcollins-86653 · 2/10 · 29 January 2021]

I'm quite a fan of these type of movies but this one was dreadful ...realism is ok and less is more and all that but you do need a storyline ! This consisted of a guy wondering around the house with some banging going on upstairs....basically that is it....then thankfully it ended !

Absolutely nothing happens. A huge waste of 70 minutes.

[theomere · 1/10 · 17 February 2014]

I usually try not to rate films a 1 seeing as it is a pretty harsh statement. The acting in this particular film is not as atrocious as many which I have rated between 2 and 3 in the past. However, I feel that this was such an incredibly disappointing waste of time that I have to put my foot down.

Although slow, the beginning at least shows a little promise. I do like it when films use the 'mockumentary' angle to set the scene and some of the information gleaned from this first part is admittedly a little creepy.

Unfortunately this is completely ruined once we are taken inside the house to view the main character wandering around in the supposedly haunted building. A sweet load of nothing then proceeds to occur from then on out. Some thumps and a lot of heavy breathing is about all you get for the vast majority of the run time.

Anybody who mistakes this as good suspense is either far too easily amused, and/or inexperienced in horror.

'Paranormal Activity', while certainly no masterpiece, at least has scares in it. 'The Blair Witch Project', while artsy and low on scares, at least had somewhat original ideas (the rock piles, etc.) and characters who were a little bit interesting. In 'Muirhouse' we are treated to a run-of-the-mill haunting and a protagonist with as much personality as a soggy paper bag.

As for the end... it is so abrupt that my flatmate and I were sitting with our mouths open through the credits. Surely, we thought, this can't be it? Don't worry though; there's a short clip at the end of the credits. Actually, forget about it. It adds absolutely nothing to the story and it is not frightening in the slightest.

The premise was about the only positive to all of this which in turn makes it a negative: wasted potential.

Someone should remake this film. Seriously.

About as exciting as sitting in my darkened living room for 24hrs....

[sweets08816 · 2/10 · 4 August 2018]

This is a movie about nothing. He does nothing, sees, nothing, we learn nothing.... It's like the creators of Seinfeld decided to make a horror film; an hour of nothing...in the dark.

Did They Run Out Of Money?

[smakar · 4/10 · 9 February 2015]

I've always had a weakness for low-budget, independent horror movies, and I'm very forgiving of their acting and technical aspects. All I look for is to be "entertained". By this, I mean stories that are interesting and told in a manner that keep my attention, and characters that likable (hopefully), or at the least not annoying.

I really enjoy horror that comes from suspense, rather than graphic violence, and that includes horror that is implied rather than having everything shown. Two good examples are the infamous The Blair Witch Project, and more recently, Josh Stewart's The Hunted (2013).

As I watched Muirhouse, I thought I had found another movie to add to my "re-watch" list - for I will watch movies that I like again and again. I thought the story, although simple, was interesting, the Muirhouse location was fantastic, the acting was fine, and the implied horror was great.

THEN CAME THE ENDING.....

It was literally as if this movie ran out of money, or the producers fired the director and released the footage that they had. What made it more frustrating is the opening scene, which led you to believe that the film would explain how it came to be, but instead NOTHING was explained! It's as if they tacked on a scene from a different movie at the beginning to pad the run-time.

The ending of this movie literally ruined the entire film for me. This is quite an accomplishment in itself, considering how much I was enjoying the film up to that point. And instead of placing it on my "re-watch" list, I immediately deleted it from my video library (purchased from Amazon Instant Videos).

There is another recent movie where the ending was very annoying - The Black Water Vampire - which I REALLY enjoyed up to the ending. In this case, the ending was (in my opinion) absurd, and I've re-watched a couple of times up to the ending, pretending that's where the movie ends. Maybe I will do the same for Muirhouse, but right now I'm still too ticked off to consider it.

So close to being one of the best found footage films

[trivium105 · 6/10 · 22 October 2013]

I am a big fan of the less-is-more type of horror film and Muirhouse is certainly one of these. Initially it appeared it was going to be just another typical found footage (FF) film, guy with camera in haunted house at night, hears weird noises etc etc. At this point in most FF films the ghosts/aliens/monsters start making their appearances and the film descends into endless running, screaming and gore. At this point I lose interest in FF films. I love the build up of tension, the weird unexplained phenomena, that is what is creepy to me. In Muirhouse, the ghosts (if that is what 'they' are) never do appear. This had dual effect on me. The tension was superbly built up and was almost palpable, and I loved that it wasn't ruined by everything being gratuitously revealed in a screaming bloodbath. Conversely (and I realise it sounds like a contradiction), I think the film would have been better off if it HAD produced a couple of ghosts ... not in the obvious explicit way of most FF films, but just a few glimpses, or sudden quick appearances. The tension was so so well built up that I think a ghostly face appearing would have made most people jump out of their skin. For me, the film fell short of being terrifying for this reason.

A big plus point for me was that although FF films never come across as real footage, Muirhouse came as close as any that I've seen to being convincing. The main guy in it doing things like muttering 'shut the f*** up' at someones annoying answerphone message came across as very realistic. Well done to the director/actor on this aspect.

If only there had been a few more jump-out-your-skin moments to go with the decent acting, realism and tension build-up then I think this would have to be considered among the best FF films.

Terrible

[andrewmcl83-170-764416 · 1/10 · 17 September 2019]

I shouldn't even waste my time with a review. Nothing happens. Guy walks around breathing heavy and a ghost turns off the lights and moves some furniture. Absolute disgrace to found footage films

Real Haunted house real found footage Real Scary

[thetruthmegahurts · 9/10 · 18 February 2013]

This is a bit of a game changer for the found footage genre

Firstly - The cameras do not wobble to distraction and the sound is excellent. Secondly - the story unfolds logically and you can actually understand it. and thirdly - it is actually suspenseful.

What unfolds is a plot you piece together in your own mind. (Harking back to the genre grand momma 'The Blair Witch Project'.)

It is made up of witness shots, ghost society pictures, police tapes, press kit footage and surveillance cameras.

It's about a 'ghost house reviewer'. And the circumstances which lead to him breaking the golden rule of 'Ghost hunting.' - "Never attempt paranormal contact alone."

Sure enough he ends up all alone in the most haunted house in Australia. Historical back stories believed to have occurred in the historical country house inform the ghost house reviewers paranoia.

But the first time we meet him, it as he is slammed on the bonnet of a police car after being found staggering around on a country highway holding a bloody mallet. Police audio reports 3 people have been found dead.

Muirhouse is the story of what lead up to this. And perhaps what to expect afterward if you ever visit the real house. It was all filmed apparently in the house which is rumored to be Australia's most haunted residence.

Whilst it was probably made for less than the likes of 'Quarantine', 'Cloverfield' and 'Chronicle' this one certainly gives any film with the title 'Paranormal Activity' (and a numeral after it) a run for their money.

Has potential but fails at the last hurdle!

[jendillane69 · 6/10 · 27 February 2014]

I am a massive horror fan and love a good "found footage" film..... even the bad ones, of which there are many! I started watching this film and from the beginning was engrossed...the pre-house interviews, footage etc looked professional and gave the sense that these were intelligent people, rather than the idiots that normally go into haunted houses.

One part I enjoyed in particular were the "rules of ghost hunting" which I have never seen before in this type of film. One of the main rules was "never go into a haunted house alone"....... Forward to the main character going into the house on his own!

I'm not normally jumpy or scared but found myself on edge as the main character explored the house. The house itself is creepy in it's own right. A typical old style house with creepy dolls, pictures and lots of dark corners. The main character is clearly uneasy in the house and I did feel scared at the anticipation of something happening.

Unfortunately this is where my enthusiasm for the film ends........ what could have been an amazing found footage film is completely spoiled by 3 things.

1. The lack of actual scares! Whilst I was on edge at the general creepiness of the house, apart from a couple of knocks and a wardrobe door opening, nothing really happens. I'm not a fan of loads of silly things happening which tend to look fake and ruin the film, but in this case a few ghostly mists or stuff moving really would have scared me!

2. The ending! Wow, I've seen some rubbish endings in my time but this takes the biscuit. The only real ghostly activity is cut so abruptly short that I lost all unease I may have had and sat in disbelief that the film had actually ended....... there were so many ways to have cleverly ended the film and none of them were taken.

3. The overall plot! The film starts with the main character walking topless down a highway with a hammer in his hand. So automatically you are expecting something to happen for him to get in this state. Take that and the fact that you know 3 people are on their way to meet him and you'll have some ideas floating in your head about what happens. ***SPOILER*** What actually happens is he gets pulled into a wardrobe and the credits role.....the final scene after the credits shows one of the people who were meeting him arrive and look at the camera.....end! What happened? Did he kill them? What happened to him?

Overall it's a film to watch if you like this genre of films but don't expect to feel scared by the end....... what could have been a brilliant film was ruined by rookie mistakes that will make horror fan's toes curl.

I agree with an earlier review which said the film should be re-made or another version shot, but that's doubtful!

Unfortunately this is another watch once and forget about film!

Incredibly Realistic - In the Sense that nothing happens.

[y_J_y · 1/10 · 16 April 2019]

If you ever watched Ghosthunter-TV-Shows, you will quickly notice the pattern that they all seem to repeat. A team goes into some abandoned, haunted location. Has some interviews, gives some history. Then they stay the night and record everything. Then afterwards they review the footage, and you can see some little blimp on a picture or some "voice" thats mostly noise on a very unclear audio recording. So all in all, nothing happens, but they edit it to make it scary.

This movie depicts such a team, except this time, the Investigator going in is forced to be on his own, and the events that take place are actually real. Supposedly. And (to be fair) events DO take place, they are just not as remotely shocking to me as the movie would need them to be to be considered decent horror.

In the beginning, they find the Investigator on a street, completely traumatized and maybe even possessed, but nothing in the movie truly justifies that. These people go through abandoned buildings all the time. Some sounds, some screaming, all of that jazz should hardly traumatize them. And thats all that ever happens in this movie. Footsteps, some screams, strange situations. I found myself to not even slightly be terrified by that, especially given its repitition.

The location is also a minus, as its hard to make very narrow quarters work in horror. Suspense is kept up by flinging the camera around to various edges of the little rooms, where also, nothing ever happens, and this stuff gets repetetive fast.

The worst part about the movie is that there is CLEARLY something wrong with the House, its very evidently hounted, and somehow his team is never arriving and the location, but he seems to be so unphased that he reenters the House (after yelling and scaridly running out) not once, but twice.

The yelling overall is sadly just annoying because you as a viewer do not share sympathy in the slightest due to the missing suspense. I can best describe it with a comparison. If this movie was a game of football, it would be as though watching your team painfully struggle all game and players getting exchanged for no reason at all, up until the final moment of the game, where they eventually take a shot and miss.

I dislike spoiling movies, but this one is bad. So nothing is lost. Would not recommend this to anyone and will likely never watch it again.

Not bad

[befoulmetalroosa · 5/10 · 9 April 2016]

This one was done a bit more professionally than a lot of 'ghost hunter' found footage films. There was a lot of background information; evp evidence, video, pictures, etc. That made it more realistic. It took some time getting started, but the lead actor who played Muirhouse was excellent. He showed a vulnerability that I've seldom seen with the usual ghost hunter types. He didn't act macho and all 'I ain't scared of nothing'. It was refreshing to see a human ghost hunter. That being said, it ended up being your standard-fare haunted house movie. The usual bumps in the night, doors opening and closing, and shrieks. Lights going out intermittently. The same old, same old.

Pretty good & a bit scary

[stefhm · 8/10 · 3 September 2016]

I rather liked this film. It is a found footage movie, but it's done pretty well. Not all shaky and overly pretend amateur filming. The premise is good w the main character Phillip going to the haunted house awaiting his crew. And his time there gave me the willies and a few hold my breath moments. My only criticism is the ending. It doesn't really explain how Phillip got to where he was in the beginning. It is one of those movies that shows the outcome and then what led up to that outcome. I would totally recommend this for a free movie or rental. Not worth paying a lot for. But for the movies to watch w Prime or Netflix, it's one of the better that I've seen.

Great found footage film.

[lgummer-966-644703 · 8/10 · 20 June 2014]

I remember going to the 'Monte Cristo' So after i looked around and got out. I got Muirhouse. It's a 1 hour 15 min film. After i got home. I unboxed the DVD, Opened the DVD, Puted the DVD into the DVD player. Watched the movie, And i thought the ending might be the creepiest part of the movie. But i enjoyed it. It only got a 1 win on the cover. That's why i got the DVD back at the Monte cristo. If your a haunted fan. You should go to the Monte Cristo and buy the movie Well. I thought this was a great film.

But i understand why so many people didn't enjoy the film.

It's because it wasn't scary for them, They didn't like the acting, They didn't get nightmares, And they didn't like it. For me i thought the movie was a great film (That's what i said before), But there's one thing. The movie is only in Australia. Not in other Countrys.

Tense and strangely beautiful...

[info-58350 · 9/10 · 15 January 2022]

This is not a slasher gore fest... it's more subtle and poised than that. If you like a movie that will draw you in and let you feel the heavy, velvet atmosphere of a once grand home and then slowly lets the walls close in around you, then you should get creepy thrills from Muirhouse.

The tension builds inexorably as the house grinds away at Muirhouse's composure and sanity.

Wonderful acting from Iain McDonald and confident storytelling produced a film that goes beyond jump scares and large pools of blood.