The Gallows

While watching the latest POV camera horror film Blu-ray "The Gallows," I got out my trusty checklist to make sure I didn't miss anything:

There was a horrific accident which happened two decades ago.

Check.

A group of attractive, nubile, and young actors make up the cast.

Check.

Earsplitting and unexpectedly loud noises fill the soundtrack.

Check.

An annoying lead character films the entire sequence of events for no particular reason.

Check.

The twist ending wasn't really a surprise after all.

Check.

So an offering from Blumhouse Productions (makers of the "Paranormal Activity" series) has all the requisite elements of a found-footage feature film; which by the way, has long gone past its expiration date as a viable film genre. A few decent scares make up a movie about a killer stalking high school kids on the set of "The Gallows" play, where twenty years prior an accidental hanging took place.

Overall, some spooky moments don't override a clich�-ridden movie that was made for only $100,000 and raked in tons of moola.

An abundance of special features make up Warner Bros. Blu-ray, a boon for fans of "The Gallows" and those wishing to rent it. The quite young Chris Lofing, one-half of the producing/directing/writing team, and Travis Cluff sit down with Blumhouse Productions founder Jason Blum to talk about how the film came together. There's a brief behind-the scenes too.

A whopping fifteen deleted scenes can be viewed which were cut to give the film a more condensed 81-minute running time. Most intriguing of all features is the presentation of the original version of "The Gallows," which was shot guerilla-style and has more heart and soul to it before a major studio tinkered with it.

"The Gallows"
Blu-ray
$44.95
www.warnervideo.com