A group of kidnappers get more than they bargained for in From a House on Willow Street. Hazel (Sharni Vinson), Ade (Steven John Ward), Mark (Zino Ventura), and James (Gustav Gerderner) set out one night to kidnap Katherine (Carlyn Burchell) and hold her ransom for 300-karats in diamonds. However, something seems wrong when Katherine’s parents wouldn’t answer the ransom call. The four soon discover that Katherine is possessed by demon that devours tormented souls. As such, what started off as a kidnapping, quickly turns into a fight for survival.
From a House on Willow Street is a supernatural horror film from South African filmmaker Alastair Orr. The film stars You’re Next‘s Sharni Vinson as Hazel, a woman who is haunted by a fire from her childhood. Hazel helps organize this kidnapping along with her boyfriend Ade, his trigger happy cousin James, and fellow accomplice Mark. However, it turns out that the house on Willow Street where Katherine lives is a very evil place and that the demon that resides there needs four souls to walk the Earth.
It cannot be denied that From a House on Willow Street is a technically well-made horror film, despite an over-reliance on jump scares. However, the film is marred by an extremely flawed screenplay and acting that can best be described as subpar. While Sharni Vinson is fine in her lead role, the rest of the cast has some pretty bad dialogue, include some lengthy scenes of exposition, shown in the film via not one, but two videotapes. While Alastair Orr seems like a filmmaker with promise, perhaps next time he could work on the script a bit more before entering production.
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